SIXTY  YEARS  OF 
AMERICAN  LIFE 


-  EVERETT  P.  WHEELER  * 


GIFT    OF 
JANE  K.SATHER 


SIXTY    YEARS 
OF   AMERICAN    LIFE 


EVERETT    P.    WHEELER 


SIXTY   YEARS 
OF    AMERICAN    LIFE 

TAYLOR  TO  ROOSEVELT,  1850  TO  1910 


BY 


EVERETT  P.  WHEELER,  A.M.,  M.S. 
In  primis,  magno  usui,  est  memoria  rerum  gestarum. — Sallust 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  FIFTH  AVENUE 
1917 


&*- 


COPYRIGHT,   1917 

BY 

E.  P.   BUTTON    &    COMPANY 


Iknicbcrbocfcer  (Press,  Hew 


INTRODUCTION 

W.  B.  THAYER,  writing  about  Hay's  journals,  says: 
"It  is  precisely  such  testimony  as  this  that  enables  the 
historian  to  discover  the  state  of  mind,  whether  personal 
or  collective,  out  of  which  came  the  motives  which  caused 
the  events  in  any  historical  episode.  Lee  planned  differ 
ently  when  he  had  to  deal  with  Grant  and  not  with 
McClellan.  Unless  the  historian  come  to  this  knowledge, 
he  can  never  show  '  the  very  age  and  body  of  the  time, 
its  form  and  pressure ' ;  the  Past  will  be  dead  to  him,  an 
affair  of  mummies,  a  deciphering  of  mummy  cases  which 
no  display  of  erudition  concerning  economics,  commercial 
statistics  or  documents  can  bring  to  life."  x 

American  life  as  I  have  seen  it  for  sixty  years  is  what 
I  have  tried  to  describe.  I  hope  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  my  readers,  and  of  value  to  future  historians.  As  Web 
ster  said  in  his  address  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts, 
on  Boston  Common,  in  July,  1852:  "The  character  of 
nations  and  of  men  is  made  out  of  facts.  It  is  not  the 
portraiture  of  the  pencil  so  much  as  it  is  the  narrative 
of  the  pen." 

It  may  be  thought  that  I  have  devoted  too  much  space 
to  the  various  campaigns  in  New  York  City  for  municipal 
reform,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  history  of  these  cam- 

1  Thayer,  Life  of  Hay,  vol.  i.,  pp.  135,  136. 


377543 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

paigns  contains  a  lesson  for  all  the  cities  of  this  country. 
At  the  beginning  of  my  story,  New  York  was  probably  the 
worst  governed  city  in  the  United  States.  A  competent 
student  of  municipal  affairs  who  is  familiar  with  municipal 
government  throughout  the  country,  has  recently  said  that 
it  is  now  the  best  governed  city  in  the  United  States.  This 
statement  must  be  taken  with  reference  to  the  difficulties 
of  administration  in  a  great  and  heterogeneous  popu 
lation.  Thus  understood,  it  is  true. 

The  tariff,  corruption  in  politics  and  civil  service  reform 
are  still  under  consideration  and  discussion.  The  new 
currency  system  is  still  on  trial.  In  the  story  of  the  past 
we  should  find  lessons  for  the  future.  History  is  philo 
sophy  teaching  by  example. 

The  present  war  in  Europe  is  so  strenuous,  the  citizens 
of  the  great  nations  engaged  in  it  are  showing  such  devo 
tion,  courage  in  danger,  patience  in  hardship,  fortitude  in 
suffering,  and  readiness  to  die  for  a  cause  sacred  to  them, 
that  it  may  be  hard  to  awaken  interest  in  this  tale  of 
civil  life.  I  would  not  undervalue  the  importance  of 
such  preparation  as  will  enable  a  nation  to  repress  lawless 
elements  within  its  own  borders  and  to  aid  in  the  defense 
of  weaker  nations  who  are  attacked  by  lawless  states. 
But  what  I  try  in  this  book  to  impress  upon  my  country 
men  is  the  equal  need  to  practice  the  civic  virtues.  Cour 
age  and  self-sacrifice  can  be  displayed  in  political  contests 
for  efficient  and  honest  government  and  for  the  main 
tenance  in  civic  life  of  those  great  principles  of  righteous 
ness  which  alone  exalt  a  nation,  as  well  as  on  the  field 
of  battle.  Wars  must  end,  but  civil  life  endures. 


INTRODUCTION  v 

I  have  been  a  lawyer  in  active  practice  in  the  courts,  both 
State  and  Federal.  I  had  hoped  to  embody  in  this  volume 
some  professional  experiences.  But  there  is  not  space. 
If  the  public  is  interested  in  this  book  I  may  later  give 
them  the  Life  of  a  Lawyer. 

Let  me  close  this  introduction  with  a  personal  touch. 
On  a  summer  evening,  after  a  busy  day,  I  went  from 
my  house  in  Park  Avenue,  across  the  street  to  the  library 
of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary.  There  I  found 
Schleiermacher's  Monologen.  I  translated  a  paragraph, 
which  expresses  my  ideal: 

"  I  will  keep  my  spirits  without  flagging  to  the  end  of  my 
days.  The  fresh  courage  of  life  shall  never  forsake  me. 
What  gladdens  me  now  shall  gladden  me  always.  My  will 
shall  continue  firm  and  my  imagination  vivid.  Nothing  shall 
snatch  from  me  the  magic  key  which  opens  to  me  those  doors 
of  the  invisible  world  which  are  filled  with  mystery,  and  the 
fire  of  love  in  my  heart  shall  never  grow  dim.  I  shall  never 
experience  the  dreaded  weakness  of  old  age.  I  will  treat 
with  noble  disdain  every  adversity  which  assails  the  aim  of 
my  existence,  and  I  promise  myself  eternal  youth." 

EVERETT  P.  WHEELER. 

August  I5th,  1916. 


NOTE  TO  INTRODUCTION 

THE  publishers  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Post  and  of  the  Outlook  in  consenting  to  the 
republication  of  the  portions  of  the  chapters  on  the  Tariff 
and  on  Municipal  Reform  which  have  already  appeared 
in  those  periodicals. 


vu 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGB 

THE  CIVIL  WAR — ITS  ORIGIN.     1850-1861  i 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  BEGINNING.     1861     .         .         .19 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  CIVIL  WAR— 1862-1865 25 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION — 1865-1872      .        .      65 

CHAPTER  V 
NATIONAL  POLITICS  AFTER  THE  WAR — 1872-1876          .      95 

CHAPTER  VI 

NATIONAL  POLITICS  AFTER  THE  WAR — 1877-1884.         .     116 
The    Administrations    of    Hayes,    Garfield    and 
Arthur. 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE    FIRST  CLEVELAND    ADMINISTRATION — 1885-1889 

THE  HARRISON  ADMINISTRATION — 1889-1893      .     130 

CHAPTER  VIII 

NATIONAL  POLITICS  AFTER  THE  WAR.    THE  TARIFF. 

1877-1887 150 

CHAPTER  IX 

NATIONAL  POLITICS  AFTER  THE  WAR.    THE  TARIFF. 

1888-1913       .  183 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  X 

PAGE 

THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913         .         .  .         .     223 

CHAPTER  XI 
CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM.     1880-1916  .        .         .     262 

CHAPTER  XII 

MUNICIPAL   REFORM,    NEW   YORK    CITY    POLITICS — 

1854-1894 3H 

Wood  to  Gilroy. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

MUNICIPAL   REFORM,    NEW    YORK    CITY    POLITICS — 

1895-1901 343 

Strong  and  Van  Wyck. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

MUNICIPAL    REFORM,    NEW    YORK    CITY    POLITICS — 

1902-1910 372 

Low  to  Gaynor. 

CHAPTER  XV 
LAW  REFORM  .......     403 

CHAPTER  XVI 

PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 413 

I. — Cleveland 

II.— McKinley 

III.— Roosevelt 

CHAPTER  XVII 
CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS 449 

INDEX  47 1 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE  FACING 

EVERETT  P.  WHEELER  .         .         .         Frontispiece 

DANIEL  WEBSTER     ...  5 

(From  an  Engraving  by  Hollyer  of  a  Portrait  by  Ames) 

PRESIDENT  GROVER  CLEVELAND          .         .         .         .125 

(From   a   Painting   by   Zorn   in   the    Possession   of   Mrs. 
Daniel  S.  Lament) 

CARL  SCHURZ  263 

(From  a  Photograph) 

JOSEPH  H.  CHOATE 430 

(From  an  Engraving  by  E.  A.  Williams  &  Bro.) 

PRESIDENT  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT      ....     437 

(From  a  Photograph) 


Sixty  Years  of  American  Life 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CIVIL   WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,   1850-1861 

THE  story  of  the  Civil  War  has  many  times  been  told. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  relate  it  in  detail.  In  order  to 
understand  that  period,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  briefly 
the  ten  previous  years. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch.  While  at  first  it 
divided  the  nation  into  hostile  camps,  yet  in  the  end  it 
established  a  more  perfect  union.  The  intensity  of  the 
struggle  developed  commercial  and  industrial  forces  to  a 
degree  unprecedented  in  America.  The  harvest  was 
accompanied  by  a  bountiful  crop  of  weeds.  Partisanship 
was  often  masked  under  the  guise  of  patriotism.  The 
public  service  of  the  country  was  in  large  measure  or 
ganized  on  principles  of  partisan  politics.  The  tariff  was 
changed  from  a  means  of  raising  revenue  or  of  fostering 
infant  industries,  into  a  machine  for  levying  tribute  on  the 
great  body  of  consumers  for  the  benefit  of  favored  indus 
tries  which  had  already  achieved  independence.  Munici 
pal  administration  was  in  many  cities  turned  into  a 
gainful  trade.  The  patriotism  and  public  spirit  of  our 


2          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

citizens  have  risen  as  the  dangers  were  more  clearly 
perceived.  The  history  of  the  country  from  1870  to 
1910  is  a  history  of  the  struggle  of  these  conflicting 
passions. 

The  adoption  of  the  compromise  measures  of  1850  was 
a  turning  point  in  American  history.  The  large  majority 
of  the  Northern  people  were  opposed  to  slavery,  but  they 
felt  no  responsibility  for  it  and  thought  the  question  of 
emancipation  one  for  which  the  South  alone  was  re 
sponsible.  The  main  features  of  this  legislation  of  1850 
were  the  admission  of  California  as  a  free  state,  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the 
Fugitive  Slave  law.  These  were  on  the  whole  satisfactory 
to  both  North  and  South.  In  1852,  Franklin  Pierce, 
Democratic  candidate  whose  nomination  and  platform 
expressed  this  sentiment  of  satisfaction,  was  elected  by  a 
great  majority.  His  opponent,  General  Scott,  received  the 
electoral  vote  of  Vermont,  Maryland  and  Kentucky,  only. 

The  anti-slavery  cause  was  advocated  by  men  who 
believed  that  slavery  everywhere,  and  under  all  circum 
stances,  was  wrong,  and  that  any  stipulation  in  the 
Constitution  recognizing  slavery  was  wrong  and  not 
entitled  to  obedience.1 

Emerson's  lecture  on  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Law" 
(delivered  March  7,  1854)  expressed  most  clearly  the 
judgment  of  the  group  who  were  then  known  as  Aboli 
tionists,  and  as  such  were  held  up  to  reproach.  Their 


1  Theodore  Tilton  expressed  their  prejudice  against  the  South  in  the 
Independent,  July  9,  1863:  "The  lower  caste  of  men  that  Southern  slave- 
holding  breeds." 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861      3 

great  leader,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  had  called  the 
Constitution  a  "covenant  with  hell."  The  anti-slavery 
literature  we  can  still  read  in  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  in 
Whittier,  Lowell  and  Longfellow.  But  the  Abolitionists 
were  in  a  small  minority.  In  general  the  Northern 
people  were  satisfied  with  the  result  of  the  election  of 
1852  and  an  era  of  good  feeling  existed  and  was  expected 
to  continue.  They  did  not  believe  in  the  permanence  of 
slavery,  but  they  did  not  think  that  the  negroes  were 
capable  of  self-government,  much  less  of  taking  part  in 
the  government  of  others.  The  Republic  of  Liberia  had 
been  established  by  the  United  States  and  many,  of  whom 
my  uncle,  John  Wheeler,  President  of  the  University  of 
Vermont,  was  one,  believed  that  colonization  there  would 
solve  the  problem  of  the  colored  race. 

Mr.  Webster,  in  the  celebrated  Seventh  of  March 
speech  on  these  compromise  measures,  declared  that  if 
the  South  should  propose  "a  scheme  to  be  carried  on  by 
this  Government,  upon  a  large  scale,  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  free  colored  people  to  any  colony,  or  any  place  in 
the  world, "  he  would  "favor  the  use  for  this  purpose  of  a 
sum  equal  to  the  amount  received  by  the  United  States 
from  the  proceeds  of  land  ceded  by  Virginia,  amounting 
then  to  Eighty  Million  dollars  and  likely  to  reach  the  sum 
of  Two  Hundred  Millions."  But  the  South  needed  and 
still  needs  the  colored  people.  Their  development  as  a 
race  has  progressed  and  will  progress  better  here  than  in 
Africa.  They  were  fated  to  be  free  here  in  America.  And 
as  the  South  refused  voluntary  emancipation,  it  came 
with  fire  and  sword.  The  difficulties  that  the  more  intelli- 


4  SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

gent  Southerners  foresaw,  and  which  we  must  now  admit 
palliated  their  refusal,  are  now  upon  us.  They  can  only 
be  overcome  by  the  exercise  of  the  same  spirit  of  modera 
tion,  sympathy  and  mutual  consideration,  which  char 
acterizes  the  Seventh  of  March  speech,  and  which  always 
has  been  the  most  odious  spirit  to  zealots  on  both  sides. 

Daniel  Webster's  speech  on  the  compromise  measures 
was  widely  circulated;  bitterly  criticized  by  some  but 
praised  by  more.  It  was  entitled,  "A  Speech  for  the  Pre 
servation  of  the  Union. "  Nowhere  was  it  more  cordially 
received  than  in  New  York.  When  next  he  appeared 
in  public  here  we  gave  him  an  ovation. 

The  Historical  Society,  which  had  become  one  of  our 
oldest  and  most  cherished  institutions,  certainly  among 
old  New  Yorkers,  was  then  planning  for  the  new  building, 
which  was  afterwards  erected  on  the  corner  of  Second 
Avenue  and  Tenth  Street.  This  in  1852  was  the  most 
fashionable  part  of  New  York.  The  money  for  this 
building  was  largely  raised  by  the  sale  of  tickets  for  a 
course  of  lectures.  In  those  days,  the  lecture  platform 
was  occupied  by  our  most  distinguished  men  and  was  a 
power  in  molding  public  sentiment.  Webster,  Choate, 
Everett,  Wendell  Phillips,  Beecher,  Curtis,  Theodore  Par 
ker  and  Emerson  commanded  great  audiences  through 
out  the  country.  Naturally,  Webster  was  invited  to 
deliver  a  lecture  in  the  Historical  Society  course.  He 
accepted,  and  his  last  speech  in  New  York  was  delivered 
in  Niblo's  Theater,  February  23,  1852. 

The  demand  for  tickets  was  far  in  excess  of  the  supply. 
I  heard  of  $50  and  even  $100  being  paid  for  a  single  ticket. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER 

(From  an  Engraving  by  Hollyer  of  a  Portrait  by  Ames) 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861      5 

My  father,  as  a  member  of  the  Society,  had  two  tickets  and 
took  me  with  him.    The  hall  was  filled  to  overflowing. 

Webster's  personality  was  unique.  Probably  no  man 
in  America  ever  had  such  an  imposing  figure.  He  was 
the  only  American  to  whom  the  epithet  of  "god-like"  was 
applied  during  his  lifetime.  It  did  not,  in  his  case,  cause 
surprise.  Whittier  has  described  him : 

New  England's  stateliest  type  of  man, 
In  port  and  speech,  Olympian, 
Whom  the  rich  heavens  did  so  endow 
With  eyes  of  power  and  Jove's  own  brow, 
Whom  no  one  met,  at  first,  but  took 
A  second  awed  and  wondering  look. 

His  subject  was  "The  Dignity  and  Importance  of 
History. "  He  spoke  of  the  great  historians  of  Greece,  of 
Rome,  of  England.  In  the  state  of  public  feeling  at  that 
time,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  speak  on  any  important 
occasion  without  some  reference  to  the  vital  necessity  of 
maintaining  the  Union  of  the  States.  Therefore  he  spoke 
of  the  development  of  the  Republic,  which  in  those  days 
was  considered  wonderful,  but  which  compared  to  what 
we  now  see,  appears  to  us  moderate.  He  declared  that 
this  wonderful  growth  was  due  to  the  beneficent  influence 
of  the  Union  of  the  States  under  one  strong  government, 
with  powers  adequate  for  all  requirements  of  commerce 
and  social  order.  His  voice,  which  during  the  delivery  of 
the  rest  of  the  address  had  been  clear  and  melodious,  but 
unimpassioned,  now  rose  like  a  trumpet  and  resounded 
throughout  the  hall.  He  spoke  of  the  calamities  which 
would  follow  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  and  cried,  ' '  May 


6  SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

I  not  live  to  hear  an  apocalyptic  angel  crying  through  the 
heavens  with  such  a  voice  announcing  the  fall  of  Babylon, 
'Epesen,  epese,  Babylon  e  megale'."1 

As  the  sonorous  Greek  resounded  through  the  hall,  it 
seemed  as  if  the  angel  himself  were  there  and  the  trump 
of  doom  were  indeed  blown.  A  thrill  passed  through  the 
whole  audience  and  an  involuntary  murmur  expressed 
more  clearly  than  words  how  profoundly  all  were  moved. 

Years  after  this,  I  met  a  lady  who  had  lived  at  Marsh- 
field,  and  was  intimate  in  the  Webster  family.  She  told 
me  that  during  the  summer  of  1849,  she  was  at  dinner  in 
Mr.  Webster's  house;  he  was  quiet  and  preoccupied,  con 
trary  to  his  wont,  and  after  dinner  was  over,  he  stood  in 
front  of  the  chimney  piece  in  profound  thought.  Then 
he  said,  "If  this  strife  between  the  South  and  North  goes 
on,  we  shall  have  war,  and  who  is  prepared  for  that?'* 

As  I  listened  to  this  address  of  Mr.  Webster,  it  did  not 
occur  to  me  and  I  do  not  think  it  occurred  to  any  person 
there,  that  his  health  was  impaired.  But  in  the  summer, 
sickness  came,  and  at  the  end  of  October,  1852,  he  died  at 
Marshfield.  His  death  produced  a  profound  impression 
throughout  the  country.  Never,  except  when  Mr.  Lincoln 
died,  have  I  seen  such  expressions  of  grief  and  bereavement. 

Union  men  throughout  the  country  knew  well  that  his 
speeches  in  Congress,  his  addresses  on  the  platform  and  his 
arguments  in  the  Supreme  Court,  had  done  more  than 
aught  else  to  convince  the  American  people  that  they  were 
living  under  a  united  government,  and  that  this  govern 
ment  had  power  adequate  for  its  needs. 

1 "  Babylon  the  Great  has  fallen,  has  fallen. ' '     Revelation  xviii.,  2. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861      7 

It  seemed  when  he  died,  as  if  the  main  support  of  the 
Union  had  been  taken  away.  My  father  was  elected 
delegate  by  the  Historical  Society  and  by  the  Bar  of  the 
City,  to  attend  the  funeral.  In  company  with  other  dele 
gates,  and  with  many  volunteers,  we  went  to  Boston. 
We  left  New  York  hung  with  mourning  and  found  Boston 
even  more  funereal.  My  father  and  I  went  to  the  Revere 
House.  It  was  the  hotel  most  associated  with  Mr. 
Webster,  and  from  there,  on  a  beautiful  autumn  day,  we 
went  to  Marshfield.  The  funeral  services  were  simple. 
A  prayer,  some  hymns,  a  selection  from  Scripture,  a 
benediction,  and  the  body  was  taken  by  friends  and  neigh 
bors  to  the  tomb.  The  hills  were  black  with  thousands 
of  people  who  had  come  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
to  pay  tribute  to  him.  His  death  closed  the  epoch  of 
compromise. 

In  1853,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  one  of  the  Senators  from 
Illinois,  brought  before  the  public  his  theory  of  popular 
sovereignty.  Up  to  that  time  most  Americans  had 
believed  that  the  Missouri  Compromise,  by  which  slavery 
could  not  be  extended  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line, 
was  a  finality.  Douglas  proposed  that  the  people  of  the 
territories,  whether  north  or  south  of  that  line,  should 
decide  for  themselves  at  the  time  of  their  admission  to  the 
Union  whether  slavery  should  be  tolerated  within  their 
borders.  But  some  Southerners  claimed  the  right  to  take 
their  slaves  into  any  territory  of  the  United  States. 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  were  ready  to  be  admitted  to  the 
Union,  and  the  question  became  a  practical  one.  It  is 

1  October  29,  1852. 


8  SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

hard  to  describe  the  intensity  of  public  sentiment  on  this 
subject.  The  very  mooting  of  the  question  astonished  the 
North.  The  old  Whig  party  went  to  pieces.  Many 
Northern  Whigs  and  Democrats  united  in  the  Republi 
can  party  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  slavery  from 
United  States  territory,  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
respective  States.  The  first  Republican  State  Conven 
tion  was  held  at  Saratoga,  New  York,  August,  1854. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  old  Whigs,  of  whom  Rufus 
Choate  was  the  most  brilliant  representative,  could  not 
accept  the  Republican  party  because  it  was  a  sectional 
party  and  they  thought  that  its  whole  spirit  was  adverse 
to  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  South  and  tended  to 
disunion. 

The  leading  issues  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1856 
were,  on  the  one  side,  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  terri 
tories  and  resistance  to  the  demands  of  the  slave  power; 
on  the  other  side,  the  union  of  States  and  anti-sectionalism. 
Fremont  was  the  Republican  candidate,  a  picturesque 
figure,  expressive  of  the  spirit  of  adventure,  dear  to  the 
heart  of  every  American.  Buchanan  was  the  Democratic 
candidate,  and  round  his  dignified  white-cravated  person 
the  conservatives  rallied. 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion  incident  to  the  dissolution 
of  the  Whig  party,  there  had  sprung  up  a  new  party, 
beginning  as  a  secret  political  order,  binding  its  members 
by  oaths  known  only  to  themselves,  and  hence  called  in 
popular  phrase,  the  "Know  Nothings."  They  developed 
into  the  American  party  and  in  1856  nominated  Millard 
Fillmore  for  the  Presidency. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861      9 

There  was  at  that  time  in  many  cities  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  a  prejudice  against  foreigners  generally,  and 
especially  against  Irish  and  Germans,  as  strong  and  un 
reasonable  as  the  anti-Chinese  and  anti- Japanese  spirit 
now  prevalent  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  A  favorite  watch 
word  of  these  "true  born  Americans"  was  an  order  alleged 
to  have  been  issued  by  General  Washington  on  some 
occasion  of  special  danger:  'Tut  none  but  Americans  on 
guard  to-night." 

In  1855  this  party  carried  the  State  elections  in  Massa 
chusetts  and  New  York.  It  had  great  hope  of  carrying 
Virginia.  But  Henry  A.  Wise  (afterwards  a  General  in 
the  Confederate  Army)  stumped  the  State  with  his  usual 
vigor,  while  his  opponent,  Flournoy,  stayed  at  home  and 
was  defeated.  This  was  the  turning  point  in  the  flood  that 
had  swept  the  new  party  along,  and  in  1856  its  candidate 
received  but  eight  electoral  votes.  Buchanan  received 
174  and  Fremont  114. 

But  this  election  of  Buchanan  was  not  to  produce 
peace.  The  struggle  went  on  in  Kansas.  A  constitution 
adopted  at  Lecompton  legalized  slavery.  One  adopted  at 
Topeka  forbade  slavery.  Robert  J.  Walker,  the  Demo 
cratic  Governor  appointed  by  Buchanan,  reported  that 
fraud  and  violence  had  been  practiced  in  the  election  of 
delegates  to  the  convention  which  framed  the  Lecompton 
Constitution,  and  Congress  refused  to  admit  Kansas  under 
either  Constitution.  She  was  not  admitted  until  January 
29,  1861. 

During  this  Kansas  controversy,  the  growth  of  the 
great  West  had  led  to  the  admission  of  two  new  States 


io         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

with  free  constitutions,  Minnesota  in  1858  and  Oregon  in 
1859.  The  Kansas  civil  war  had  intensified  the  feeling 
in  the  North  against  the  extension  of  slavery.  The  Re 
publicans  carried  the  elections  in  1858  and  in  the  House 
which  met  in  1859,  after  a  long  struggle,  they  elected 
William  Pennington,  of  New  Jersey,  Speaker. 

Meanwhile  the  famous  contest  between  Lincoln  and 
Douglas  had  attracted  universal  attention.  Their  joint 
debate  in  Illinois  in  1858  was  one  of  the  most  notable  ever 
held.  Lincoln  had  come  to  see  clearly  the  vital  question 
before  us.  In  his  speech  delivered  before  the  Convention 
which  nominated  him  for  United  States  Senator,  June 
16,  1858,  he  declared: 

"A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  I  believe 
this  Government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and 
half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not 
expect  the  house  to  fall — but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other.  Either 
the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it, 
and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  belief  that  it  is 
in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction ;  or  its  advocates  will  push 
it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  States,  old 
as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South. 

This  was  the  keynote  of  his  speeches.  They  won  the 
Northern  heart  and  convinced  the  Northern  judgment. 
Of  course  I  speak  collectively.  There  were  many  Northern 
men  who  failed  to  realize  the  real  nature  of  the  impending 
crisis;  but  they  were  in  the  minority.  In  Illinois,  Mr. 
Lincoln  received  a  plurality  of  the  popular  vote.  But  the 
majority  of  the  Legislature  was  against  him,  and  Douglas 
was  elected  Senator. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861     11 

The  debate  did  not  end  with  this  election.  In  Congress 
and  in  every  town  and  city,  North  and  South,  it  continued 
with  increasing  heat.  In  1860  the  Democratic  Convention 
met  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  in  April,  to  nominate  candidates 
for  the  Presidency  and  ^Vice- Presidency.  It  broke  into 
two  parts.  The  pro-slavery  men  assembled  at  Richmond 
and  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge  who  was  then  Vice- 
President.  The  popular  sovereignty  men  met  at  Baltimore 
and  nominated  Douglas.  A  Convention  of  conservatives 
had  already  assembled  and  nominated  for  President,  John 
Bell  of  Tennessee,  for  Vice-President,  Edward  Everett  of 
Massachusetts. 

Douglas's  policy  had  broken  his  party  in  two.  The 
breach  in  Convention  was  only  the  visible  expression  of 
this  breach.  . 

And  now  every  eye  turned  to  Chicago  where  the  Repub 
lican  National  Convention  met  June  17,  1860.  Seward 
led  on  the  first  ballot.  On  the  third,  Lincoln  was  nomi 
nated.  He  was  the  embodied  expression  of  the  new  life 
which  the  Republican  party  had  brought  into  American 
politics. 

The  great  struggle  began.  I  have  taken  part  in  many 
Presidential  campaigns,  but  in  none  of  them  was  there  the 
enthusiasm,  the  wild  resistless  stream  of  emotion,  as  in 
that  of  1860.  Long  processions  of  "Wideawakes"  in 
improvised  uniforms,  with  torches  and  banners,  marched 
cheering  through  the  streets  of  every  Northern  city. 

In  New  York  it  was  obvious  that  the  only  hope  of 
defeating  the  Lincoln  electoral  ticket  lay  in  a  union  ticket, 
upon  which  the  electors  favoring  the  three  other  candi- 


12         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

dates  should  be  represented.  These  electors,  if  they 
should  receive  the  popular  vote,  were  to  divide  the  elec 
toral  vote  of  the  State  between  the  candidates  they  re 
spectively  represented.  This  device  was  agreed  to  at  a 
great  Union  meeting  held  at  Cooper  Institute,  October 
eighth.  The  assembly  room  was  crowded  and  there  were 
four  or  five  out-of-door  meetings ;  all  enthusiastic.  The 
people  of  New  York  City  certainly  were  opposed  to  the 
new  departure  in  American  politics.  They  felt  that  there 
was  real  danger  of  disunion  and  they  were  united  to  the 
South  by  so  many  ties  of  blood,  of  affection  and  of  com 
merce,  that  they  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  severed 
States. 

During  this  campaign  I  remember  one  impressive  inci 
dent.  Herschel  V.  Johnson  of  Georgia  was  candidate  for 
Vice-President  on  the  Douglas  ticket.  He  spoke  in  Cooper 
Union  to  a  crowded  audience.  He  said : 

Fellow  citizens,  I  do  not  say  this  as  a  threat,  I  know  you  are 
too  brave  to  take  counsel  of  your  fears.  But  you  ought  to 
know  the  truth.  I  must  in  honor  and  conscience  tell  it  to  you 
plainly.  The  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  means  disunion.  Many 
of  the  Southern  States  will  secede  and  there  will  be  war 
between  the  North  and  South. 

This  bold  statement  was  received  with  a  storm  of  hisses. 
We  were  not  ready  then  even  to  contemplate  that  prospect. 

Very  soon,  however,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected.  South 
Carolina  and  other  States  passed  ordinances  of  Secession. 
They  declared  that  the  compact  by  which  they  became 
members  of  the  Union  had  been  violated  and  they  with 
drew.  Delegates  from  seven  States  met  in  Montgomery, 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861     13 

Alabama,  in  February,  1861,  and  formed  the  Confederate 
States  of  America.  Jefferson  Davis  was  elected  President. 
To  conciliate  the  Union  men  who  had  opposed  the  ordi 
nances  of  secession  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  who  had  been 
one  of  them,  was  elected  Vice-President.  The  new  Govern 
ment  was  launched  on  the  eighteenth  of  February,  when 
Mr.  Davis  was  inaugurated. 

Mr.  Buchanan  looked  on  palsied  by  sorrow  and  doubt. 
He  could  not  find  written  in  the  Constitution  any  author 
ity  to  coerce  a  seceding  State.  His  message  to  the  Con 
gress  that  met  in  December,  1860,  at  Washington  was  as 
hopeless  as  the  lamentations  of  Jeremiah.  Sentiment  in 
the  Northern  States  was  slow  to  express  itself.  Some  of 
the  old  Abolitionists  thought  it  better  to  let  the  slave 
States  go  and  thus  break  forever  the  "covenant  with 
hell"  which  they  claimed  the  North  had  wickedly  made. 

The  border  States,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and 
Missouri  did  not  secede  but  they  counseled  peaceable 
measures  and  opposed  coercion. 

On  the  fourth  of  February,  1861,  a  Peace  Congress  met 
at  Washington,  composed  of  delegates  from  twenty-one 
States,  Northern  and  Southern.  This  assembled  in  re 
sponse  to  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  general  assembly 
of  Virginia,  January  19,  1861.  President  Tyler  was 
drawn  out  of  his  retirement  and  presided.  They  spent 
much  time  in  debate  and  in  proposing  Constitutional 
amendments  which  would  guarantee  to  the  South  im 
munity  from  interference  with  the  institution  of  slavery. 
It  was  well  intentioned  but  futile. 

My  first  visit  to  Washington  was  during  the  session  of 


14         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  Peace  Convention.  Washington  was  then,  as  now,  a 
City  of  ''magnificent  distances."  But  the  streets  were 
mostly  unpaved — Sahara  in  summer — a  quagmire  in 
winter.  There  were  no  telephones  or  trolley  cars.  A 
few  lumbering  omnibuses  and  hackney  coaches  were  the 
only  public  conveyances.  The  White  House,  the  Patent 
Office,  and  the  Smithsonian  were  there.  The  Capitol  and 
the  Treasury  were  nearly  finished.  The  Washington 
Monument  had  been  begun,  marble  slabs  sent  by  the 
States  to  be  placed  in  its  walls  were  visible.  One  of  them 
read:  "The  State  of  Louisiana — always  faithful  to  the 
Union  of  States. "  I  used  to  mourn  when  I  looked  at  that 
during  the  war.  None  of  the  stately  mansions  that  now 
make  Washington  one  of  the  most  beautiful  residential 
cities  had  been  erected.  The  mud  of  the  streets  was 
expressive  of  the  Slough  of  Despond  in  which  the  North 
was  floundering. 

The  seven  seceded  States  were  trying  to  arrange  terms 
upon  which  they  should  take  over  the  forts,  custom 
houses  and  post  offices  of  the  South.  Down  to  the 
inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Federal  Government 
continued  to  send  mails  to  the  seceded  States  and  bring 
them  back  again.  In  many  of  the  Southern  custom 
houses  duties  were  still  collected.  There  had  been  no 
recognition  of  the  seceded  States.  For  commercial  pur 
poses,  their  ports  were  still  ports  of  the  United  States. 

Meanwhile  the  doubt  and  uncertainty  which  prevailed 
at  the  North  began  to  palsy  business.  Merchants  went  into 
insolvency.  ' '  Men's  hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear  and 
for  looking  at  the  things  which  were  coming  on  the  earth. " 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861     15 

Very  interesting  light  is  thrown  upon  the  condition  of 
Northern  sentiment  by  the  message  of  Israel  Washburn, 
Junior,  who  was  Governor  of  Maine  in  1861,  and  who, 
on  the  third  of  January  of  that  year,  thus  addressed  the 
legislature  of  that  State: 

The  year  1860  had  been  one  of  unsurpassed  prosperity. 
.  .  .  While  our  view  is  cheered  by  so  many  badges  of  pros 
perity  and  signs  of  hope,  a  cloud,  gathered  in  the  Southern 
sky,  is  casting  its  portentous  shadow  over  the  land,  occasioning 
uneasiness  in  the  public  mind,  disturbing  the  industrial 
relations  and  financial  operations  of  the  country,  and  menacing 
the  general  welfare. 

He  went  on  to  speak,  first  of  the  original  feeling  that 
slavery  was  an  evil,  and  second  of  the  change  in  Southern 
sentiment,  the  various  aggressions  of  "the  slave  power," 
of  its  demand  for  extension  and  of  the  determination  of 
"  every  true,  brave  and  conservative  man  in  the  North 
that  such  concessions  cannot  be  made."  He  declares: 

The  fantasy  of  secession  is  without  foundation,  either  of 
authority  or  reason.  It  was  denied  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr. 
Madison  in  the  earlier,  and  by  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Clay  and 
Mr.  Webster  and  even  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  the  later  time. 
There  is  no  such  right  in  the  Constitution;  the  President 
cannot  permit  it;  Congress  cannot  grant  it;  the  States  cannot 
concede  it. 

On  January  16,  1861,  Governor  Washburn  transmitted 
resolutions  of  the  State  of  New  York  tendering  aid  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  support  of  the  Consti 
tution  and  the  Union.  Similar  resolutions  were  adopted 
by  Massachusetts,  February  I,  1861;  by  Maine,  January 
18,  1861;  and  by  Wisconsin,  February  2,  1861.  On  the 


16         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

other  hand,  Tennessee  protested  against  that  of  New 
York,  February  12,  1861,  which  it  describes  as  "coercing 
certain  sovereign  States  of  the  South  into  obedience  to 
the  Federal  Government."1 

During  all  these  dreary  months,  Mr.  Lincoln's  discretion 
was  beyond  praise. v  He  spoke  no  words  of  bitterness  and 
gave  no  sign  of  weakness.  What  little  he  did  say  made  it 
clear  that  he  stood  immovable  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  historical  riddles  is 
the  question — what  would  have  been  the  result  if  the 
Federal  Government  had  yielded  to  the  prayer  of  the 
Confederate  envoys  and  (to  use  a  phrase  of  the  day) 
"let  the  erring  sisters  depart  in  peace."  Mr.  Webster 
had  often  argued  that  "peaceable  secession  is  an  utter 
impossibility. " 

Who  is  so  foolish  [he  cried]  as  to  expect  to  see  any  such 
thing?  I  will  not  state  what  might  produce  the  disruption 
of  the  Union;  but,  Sir,  I  see  as  plainly  as  I  see  the  sun  in 
heaven  what  that  disruption  must  produce;  I  see  that  it 
must  produce  war.2 

However,  in  1905  the  peaceable  secession  of  Norway 
from  Sweden  was  accomplished.  Not  a  gun  was  fired. 
Norwegian  envoys  were  received  in  Stockholm.  The 
public  buildings  in  Norway  were  delivered  to  the  Nor 
wegians.  The  debt  was  apportioned,  and  the  boundary 
was  amicably  adjusted.  Perhaps  if  either  the  North  or 
South  could  have  foreseen  the  blood  and  treasure  that 

1  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  State  of  Maine,  1861,  pp.  81-83,  87,  89,  90. 
9  March  7,  1850;  Writings  and  Speeches,  vol.  x.,  p.  93. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  ORIGIN,  1850-1861     17 

four  years'  war  would  exact  we  might  have  done  the  same. l 
But  very  few  foresaw  anything  of  the  sort.  General 
Sherman  did,  and  was  ridiculed  for  it.  Each  side  expected 
an  easy  victory.  And  so  we  drifted  until  the  fourth  of 
March,  1861.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  come  East  from  Springfield. 
On  Washington's  Birthday  he  addressed  the  Legislature  at 
Harrisburg,  then  took  a  special  train  for  Philadelphia,  and 
by  night  went  to  Washington  in  a  special  car,  arriving 
there  on  the  twenty-third  of  February,  before  he  was 
expected. 

Here  old  General  Winneld  Scott,  who  was  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  our  little  army,  took  all  needful  steps  for  his 
protection.  According  to  ancient  custom,  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  Mr.  Buchanan  went  together  to  the  East  Porch  of  the 
Capitol.  It  was  a  strange  contrast  between  the  courtly 
old  gentleman  who  had  lost  courage  and  the  courageous 
Westerner  full  of  life  and  "invincible  determination." 
The  only  thing  in  literature  to  compare  with  it  is  Sintram's 
ride  with  Death.  For  the  Pennsylvania  statesman  was 
more  dead  than  alive,  and  the  specters  that  assailed 
Sintram  were  not  more  formidable  than  the  doubts  and 
fears  that  beset  the  new  Administration.  There  on  the 
platform  of  the  East  Porch,  Mr.  Lincoln  uttered  these 
memorable  words : 

Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you  cannot  fight  always;  and  when, 
after  much  loss  on  both  sides  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease 

1  As  Miss  Andrews  says  in  1865  in  the  interesting  War-Time  Journal  of  a 
Georgia  Girl  (p.  in):  "The  time  to  be  blue  was  five  years  ago,  before  we 
went  into  it. " 

To  quote  also  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  second  inaugural:  "Each  looked  for  an 
easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  fundamental  and  astounding." 


1 8         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

fighting,  the  identical  old  questions  as  to  terms  of  intercourse 
are  again  upon  you. 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  countrymen,  and  not 
in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  govern 
ment  will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict  without 
being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered 
in  heaven  to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  shall  have  the 
most  solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect  and  defend  it. 

I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We 
must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it 
must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  CIVIL  WAR — ITS  BEGINNING,   1 86 1 

THE  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln  were  heard  without  apprecia 
tion.  The  crisis  was  at  hand.  Captain  Anderson  had 
been  stationed  at  Fort  Moultrie,  but  he  knew  this  position 
was  untenable,  and  in  the  night  of  December  26,  1860,  he 
moved  his  little  force  of  109  men  to  Fort  Sumter,  the 
granite  redoubt  on  the  island  in  Charleston  Harbor, 
situated  much  as  Governor's  Island  is  in  New  York 
Harbor.  All  efforts  to  provision  him  had  been  defeated 
by  the  Confederates.  In  January,  the  Star  of  the  West, 
which  was  laden  with  supplies  for  his  little  garrison,  was 
fared  on  and  driven  back. 

General  Beauregard  commanded  the  Confederate 
forces  on  the  mainland.  He  was  not  satisfied  to  starve 
Anderson  out,  and  determined  to  dislodge  him  by  force. 
On  the  twelfth  day  of  April,  1861,  he  fired  the  shot  which 
began  the  long  and  bloody  war.  The  fort  returned  the 
fire,  but  the  Confederate  guns  were  too  heavy  and  after  a 
bombardment  of  about  thirty  hours  Captain  Anderson 
was  compelled  to  surrender. 

The  indignation  that  had  been  smouldering  in  the  North 
now  burst  into  flame.  Mr.  Lincoln  called  for  seventy-five 

thousand  men  to  serve  for  ninety  days,  to  suppress  the 

19 


20         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

unlawful  combination  in  the  seceded  States  and  to  cause 
the  laws  to  be  duly  executed.  He  could  have  had  a 
million.  No  one  who  saw  it  can  forget  the  great  meeting 
at  Union  Square,  New  York  City.  My  classmate  Charles 
Henry  Pratt  and  I  went  up  in  the  tower  of  Dr.  Cheever's 
Church,  on  the  corner  of  Fifteenth  Street  and  looked  down 
on  the  multitude  that  filled  the  square.  Five  or  six  plat 
forms  had  been  erected,  speakers  were  addressing  the 
crowds  "with  heat  and  fire  and  force,"  and  many  were 
they  who  volunteered.  The  New  York  City  Militia,  the 
Seventh  Regiment,  the  Seventy-first,  the  Irish  Sixty- 
ninth,  and  the  Scotch  Seventy-ninth  volunteered  en  masse. 
Their  ranks  were  speedily  filled  by  new  recruits.  The 
Seventh  was  the  first  to  get  away.  From  the  front 
windows  of  what  was  then  the  new  Broadway  Bank 
building,  on  the  corner  of  Park  Place,  where  my  office 
was  and  where  the  Woolworth  Building  now  towers,  I 
watched  it  march  down  Broadway.  The  files  stretched 
from  curb  to  curb.  The  sidewalks,  shops  and  windows 
were  thronged  with  people  and  the  regiment  was  welcomed 
and  followed  by  cheers  from  its  armory  on  Seventh  Street 
to  the  Cortlandt  Street  Ferry.  Flags  waved  from  every 
house  and  every  steeple.  The  picture  of  this  march,  which 
hangs  in  the  Seventh  Regiment  Armory,  every  New 
Yorker  should  see. 

,  Meanwhile,  within  eight  hours  after  the  call  was  pub 
lished,  the  Massachusetts  Sixth  had  started  for  Washing 
ton  via  Baltimore.  In  those  days  railroad  cars  arriving 
from  Philadelphia  were  drawn  by  horses  to  the  station  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  The  Massachusetts 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  BEGINNING,    1861    21 

men  were,  on  the  nineteenth  of  April,  fired  on  as  they 
passed  through  the  streets  and  several  were  killed.  Mayor 
Brown  had  the  vain  hope  that  Maryland  might  remain 
neutral  in  the  great  conflict.  In  order  to  prevent  troops 
from  passing  through  the  city,  he  ordered  the  rail 
way  bridges  in  the  vicinity  burned.  He  and  Teackle 
Wallis,  another  great  citizen  of  Baltimore,  whose  statue 
stands  in  Monument  Park,  could  not  endure  the  thought 
of  armed  conflict  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
They  had  opposed  secession  and  were  Union  men.  But 
they  agreed  with  Mr.  Buchanan  that  coercion  was  illegal. 
They  were  arrested.  Wallis  was  sent  to  Fort  Warren  in 
Boston  Harbor.  Their  little  dam  was  swept  away  by  the 
torrent  of  war.  General  Butler,  who  commanded  the 
Massachusetts  troops,  seized  the  great  ferry-boats 
that,  before  a  bridge  was  built,  used  to  transport 
locomotives  and  cars  across  the  Susquehanna  at  Havre 
de  Grace.  On  these,  troops  were  transported  from 
Perryville  to  Annapolis  and  thence  they  marched  to 
Washington. 

Confederate  sympathizers  had  tried  to  disable  the 
locomotives.  But  there  were  machinists  in  the  ranks  of 
the  volunteers.  The  engines  were  speedily  repaired;  and 
soon  trains  were  running  from  Annapolis  to  Washington. 
It  was  none  too  soon.  The  proclamation  summoning 
volunteers  to  aid  the  President  in  suppressing  the  rebellion 
had  fired  the  hearts  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  Both 
these  States  passed  ordinances  of  secession.  Colonel 
Robert  E.  Lee,  after  a  painful  struggle,  parted  from 
Winfield  Scott,  his  old  commander,  and  their  West  Point 


22         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

comrades  who  remained  loyal  to  the  Union,  and  felt  bound 
in  conscience  to  go  with  Virginia. 

Confederate  troops  marched  northward,  receiving  acces 
sions  as  they  came,  and  mustered  in  force  about  Manassas, 
only  twenty  miles  from  Washington.  The  Confederate 
Capitol  was  moved  from  Montgomery  to  Richmond. 

The  cry  at  the  North  was, ' '  On  to  Richmond ! ' '  Troops, 
largely  militia  regiments,  had  been  summoned  in  haste 
and  sent  to  Washington.  General  McDowell  was  put  in 
command  of  the  army  in  front  of  the  city.  General 
Patterson  had  a  division  at  Harpers  Ferry.  The  Con 
federate  forces  also  were  divided,  watching  each  of  the 
opposing  armies.  The  question  of  victory  was  a  question 
of  combination.  The  Confederates  had  the  inner  line, 
Patterson  was  old  and  sluggish,  and  they  gained  the  first 
battle  of  Bull  Run. 

Mrs.  Burton  Harrison  has  brought  to  light  a  furtive  mes 
sage  that  enabled  the  Confederates  to  make  the  combina 
tion  that  won  this  victory.  She  relates  that  a  lady  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Dolly  Madison  sent  this  message  on  the  I5th 
of  July  to  General  Beauregard :  "  McDowell  has  certainly 
been  ordered  to  advance  on  the  i6th. — R.  O.  G."x 

McDowell  did  advance  on  the  I7th.  On  the  i8th  the 
battle  was  fought.  All  was  going  well  with  the  Union 
forces  and  victory  seemed  within  their  grasp  when  General 
Johnson,  who  had  been  summoned  from  Martinsburg, 
came  down  upon  our  right  as  Bliicher  did  upon  Napoleon 
at  Waterloo,  and  we  were  defeated  and  driven  back  in 
confusion. 

1  Scribner's  Magazine,  March,  191 1,  p.  324. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— ITS  BEGINNING,    1861     23 

That  was  the  only  battle  ever  fought  on  this  continent, 
so  far  as  I  know,  in  which  a  regiment  went  into  the  fight 
in  the  Highland  garb.  Many  indeed  and  varied  were  the 
uniforms  of  the  different  militia  regiments  that  had  been 
enlisted  on  one  side  or  the  other. 

This  dispatch,  which  Mrs.  Harrison  has  thus  brought  to 
light,  'was  after  all  a  misfortune  to  the  Confederacy.  A 
defeat  in  the  first  battle  would  have  shortened  the  war. 
The  longer  it  lasted  the  more  destructive  it  was  to  both 
sides,  but  especially  to  the  South  on  whose  soil  it  was 
mainly  waged. 

The  dismay  and  disappointment  with  which  the  news 
of  this  defeat  at  Bull  Run  was  received  at  the  North,  were 
proportionate  to  the  confidence  with  which  we  had  greeted 
McDowell's  advance.  We  rallied  quickly  to  new  exer 
tions  and  demanded  a  new  commander.  George  B. 
McClellan  had  cleared  the  Confederates  out  of  West 
Virginia  and  he  was  sent  for,  and  placed  in  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Congress  meanwhile  had  assembled  and  was  making 
provision  for  increased  Army  and  Navy.  Recruits  came 
forward  rapidly  to  replace  ninety-day  men,  though  many 
of  these  re-enlisted.  Speedily  the  whole  country  became 
one  great  camp.  McClellan  had  a  genius  for  organiza 
tion,  and  in  the  winter  of  1861-62  he  organized  an  effective 
army  which  assembled  in  Virginia  in  front  of  Washington. 

Meantime  we  began  to  blockade  the  Confederate  ports. 
The  blockade  had  been  declared  on  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  1861.  The  Richmond  Government  commissioned 
privateers.  The  Savannah  was  captured,  was  brought  into 


24         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

New  York,  and  her  captain  and  crew  were  indicted"  for 
piracy  and  brought  to  trial  before  Mr.  Justice  Nelson  (of 
the  Supreme  Court)  and  Judge  Betts  (of  the  District 
Court)  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 

The  defense  was  that  the  Southern  States  had  seceded 
and  formed  a  new  government,  that  this  was  at  any  rate 
a  government  de  facto  and  had  the  right  to  commission 
privateers,  and  that  their  warfare  was  lawful  war,  and 
not  piracy. 

All  the  leaders  of  the  bar  took  part  in  that  trial.  Mr. 
Evarts  assisted  E.  Delafield  Smith,  the  District  Attorney. 
On  behalf  of  the  prisoners  there  were  Charles  0' Conor, 
James  T.  Brady,  Daniel  Lord,  Francis  B.  Cutting  and 
Jeremiah  Larocque.  The  jury  disagreed.  The  defendants 
were  not  put  on  trial  a  second  time.  By  that  time  the 
Government  at  Washington  had  discovered  that  there  were 
blows  to  give  as  well  as  blows  to  take,  and  that  to  ignore 
the  de  facto  character  of  the  Richmond  Government  would 
lead  to  reprisals,  which  would  be  inhuman  and  disastrous. 
It  had  also  been  discovered  that  if  the  Southern  Govern 
ment  was  not  entitled  to  be  considered  as  a  belligerent,  if 
it  was  really  only  an  organization  of  insurgents,  foreign 
merchants  were  entitled  to  enter  ports  which  were  in  law 
still  ports  of  the  United  States,  and  could  not  lawfully  be 
blockaded.  The  blockade  was  our  most  effective  weapon 
and  could  not  be  relinquished.1 

1  They  were  properly  recognized  as  belligerents.  Field,  J.,  in  U.  S.  v. 
Pacific  R.  R.f  120  U.  S.  227,  238. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865 

DURING  the  winter  of  1861-62  there  was  active  prepara 
tion  on  both  sides.  The  Confederates  had  captured  the 
navy  yard  at  Norfolk  and  the  Merrimac  frigate,  razeed 
her,  covered  her  sides  and  deck  with  iron,  and  thus  pro 
duced  the  first  armored  cruiser.  On  the  eighth  of  March, 
1862,  she  attacked  our  wooden  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads, 
sank  the  Cumberland,  and  compelled  the  Congress  to 
surrender.  (  Their  cannon-balls  rebounded  from  her  iron 
clad  sides.  Lieutenant  Morris,  of  the  Cumberland,  re 
ported  to  Washington:  "I  can  only  say  in  conclusion  that 
all  did  their  duty  and  we  sank  with  the  American  flag 
flying  at  the  peak." 

In  the  North  we  felt  that  the  Merrimac  might  sally 
forth  at  any  time,  break  into  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
destroy  our  shipping  and  levy  a  contribution  on  our  banks. 

Meanwhile  Captain  Fox,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  had  given  ear  to  Captain  John  Ericsson's  project 
for  a  turreted  ironclad  that  should  carry  one  gun  of  great 
caliber.  Secretary  Welles  approved,  and  Ericsson  con 
structed  in  New  York  Harbor  what  was  aptly  described 
as  "a  cheesebox  on  a  raft."  Her  hull  was  arched  at  the 

top,  and  pointed  at  each  end.     It  was  awash.     The  turret 

25 


26         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

rose  in  the  center,  and  rotated  on  ball  bearings.  The  one 
great  gun  could  thus  be  brought  to  bear  on  any  objective. 
There  was  no  top  hamper  of  any  sort. 

In  this  novel  craft,  the  Monitor,  Lieutenant  John  L. 
Worden  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  eighth  day  of  March, 
1862.  Some  had  faith  in  her,  but  more  doubted.  When 
she  reached  Hampton  Roads,  on  the  ninth,  it  was  another 
case  of  David  and  Goliath.  For  the  apparently  puny 
antagonist  had  missiles  that  broke  through  the  Merrimac's 
armor,  and  disabled  her.  She  fled  and  was  finally  run 
ashore  and  destroyed.  The  exultation  in  our  Northern 
ports  was  unbounded.  From  this  beginning  sprang  all 
the  modern  navies.  New  York  City  has  done  well  to 
erect  a  statue  to  John  Ericsson,  with  a  model  of  his  Moni 
tor,  and  place  it  on  the  sea  wall  at  the  Battery,  where  he 
looks  out  day  and  night  over  the  harbor  which  his  genius 
and  perseverance  saved  from  devastation. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Commodore  Foote,  it  was  de 
cided,  during  the  year  1861,  to  make  a  vigorous  campaign 
on  the  inland  waters  of  the  West,  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio, 
the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland.  Various  bluffs  on 
these  rivers  had  been  fortified  by  the  Confederates,  and 
it  was  the  conviction  of  Commodore,  afterwards  Admiral, 
Foote,  that  these  could  be  bombarded  from  the  water. 
Mississippi  steamboats  were  taken,  temporary  protection 
was  improvised  by  the  erection  of  a  timber  roof  over  the 
sides  and  deck,  which  roof  was  covered  with  railroad  iron. 
These  were  the  gunboats  of  our  first  Mississippi  flotilla. 

It  was  obvious  that  to  produce  any  effect  upon  the  forts 
which  had  been  erected  on  the  bluffs  mortar-beds  would 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  27 

be  necessary,  upon  which  to  place  the  mortars  which 
should  throw  shells  over  the  breastworks.  We  had  no 
supply  of  mortar-beds  in  the  arsenals.  The  Government 
advertised  in  the  regular  way  for  bids.  The  earliest  date 
that  any  of  the  contractors  bidding  would  undertake 
delivery  was  the  first  of  May.  But  Foote  wanted  to  get 
the  flotilla  at  work  in  January,  and  some  one  suggested  that 
Abram  S.  Hewitt  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  energy  and 
efficiency,  and  that  his  firm  might  undertake  to  supply  the 
mortar-beds  in  January.  Mr.  Hewitt  took  the  contract. 
His  foundry  worked  night  and  day  and  the  mortar-beds 
were  delivered  and  placed  on  board  the  gunboats  in  time. 

On  these  the  mortars  were  placed,  and  it  was  with  them 
that  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Donelson  was  made  effect 
ive  on  the  fourteenth  of  February,  1862.  The  land 
forces  were  commanded  by  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  whose  star 
then  rose  above  the  horizon. 

Then  Mr.  Hewitt  sent  his  account  to  the  Government 
and  requested  payment.  But  it  turned  out  that  in  the 
exigencies  of  the  moment  the  usual  formalities  attending 
upon  the  making  of  a  contract  had  been  overlooked,  and 
Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War,  objected  to  the  bill. 
The  firm  was  not  so  strong  financially  that  it  could  afford 
to  lose  the  money.  Indeed,  there  was  danger  that  the 
loss  of  it  might  drive  them  into  insolvency. 

Accordingly  Mr.  Hewitt  went  on  to  Washington  to  see 
Mr.  Lincoln.  Lincoln  heard  the  story,  wrote  with  his 
own  hand  on  a  sheet  of  note  paper  an  order  to  Mr.  Cameron 
to  pay  the  bill,  and  it  was  paid  accordingly. x 

1  This  was  told  me  by  Edward  M.  Shepard. 


28         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

While  Grant  and  Foote  were  busy  in  the  West,  Mc- 
Clellan  decided  that  the  best  way  to  attack  Richmond 
was  from  the  south.  He  moved  his  army  by  sea,  to 
Fortress  Monroe  and  Hampton  Roads,  and  they  began 
their  march  up  the  peninsula. 

Alas!  like  the  British  general,  whom  Morley  describes 
in  his  Life  of  Gladstone,  McClellan  had  every  quality 
necessary  to  the  great  general  but  one:  "He  never  knew 
when  to  say  'Forward!  March!"1  He  let  Magruder 
humbug  him  with  sham  guns  at  Yorktown.  If  Washing 
ton  had  been  as  slow  there,  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  might  never  have  been  achieved.  McClellan 
had  a  well  organized  army  which  trusted  and  loved  him. 
He  was  good  to  his  men,  and  they  appreciated  it.  But 
he  marched  slowly.  A  vigorous  campaign  would  have 
brought  him  into  Richmond,  whose  spires  he  could  see 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June.  He  was  continually  de 
manding  reinforcements,  which  could  not  be  given. 
Finally  he  decided  on  a  change  of  base  from  the  York 
River  to  the  James.  He  burned  all  the  supplies  he  could 
not  carry,  and  marched  across  the  peninsula.  There 
were  seven  days  of  fighting  (June  25-July  I,  1862),  which 
ended  in  the  Confederate  defeat  at  Malvern  Hill,  a 
repulse  in  which  the  gunboats  on  the  James  afforded 
important  aid. 

Here  again  were  days  of  alarm  and  anxiety.  When  the 
army  broke  up  its  camp  on  the  York  River  its  telegraphic 
communications  were  severed.  Vague  rumors  of  defeat 
ran  through  the  Northern  cities.  At  last  we  knew  that 
the  army  had  fought  a  good  fight  and  was  safe.  If 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  29 

McClellan  had  shown  as  much  energy  in  advancing  as 
he  did  in  this  change  of  base,  the  campaign  would  have 
had  a  speedy  end. 

From  his  new  quarters  at  Harrison's  Landing  he  began 
once  more  to  assail  the  Administration.  As  we  read 
his  dispatches  now,  it  seems  as  if  he  were  "riding 
for  a  fall."  At  any  rate  the  fall  came,  and  he  was 
superseded. 

As  the  whole  miserable  story  is  now  known,  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  this  was  inevitable.  McClellan  had  made 
himself  impossible.  But  in  those  days  only  a  part  was 
known  to  the  public.  McClellan  had  his  partisans  who 
maintained  that  he  had  not  been  properly  supported  from 
Washington,  because  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  let  a  Democrat  have  the  glory  of  ending  the 
war.  The  McClellan  myth,  as  we  must  now  in  candor 
call  it,  was  an  important  factor  in  the  fall  elections  of 
1862. 

Meanwhile  the  Administration  had  made  one  great 
mistake.  McClellan  had  established  an  army  within 
twenty  miles  of  Richmond,  with  an  unassailable  base  of 
supplies  from  the  sea  and  up  the  James  River.  The  true 
course  would  have  been  to  put  a  skilful  and  aggressive 
commander  at  the  head  of  his  army  and  let  him  lead  it  on 
to  battle,  with  every  prospect  of  victory.  But  the  slow 
ness  and  insubordination  of  McClellan  had  condemned  his 
plan  of  campaign  in  the  eyes  of  the  Cabinet  at  Washington. 
As  Napier  says  in  his  History  oj  the  Peninsular  War: 
"The  blood  of  the  soldier  has  to  pay  for  the  blunders  of 
the  politicians. "  The  army  was  brought  back  from  the 


30         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

James  River  and  taken  again  to  Washington. x  The  work 
of  six  months  was  undone.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  was 
doomed  to  begin  its  work  all  over  again,  and  worst  of  all 
it  was  placed  in  command  of  that  wrongheaded  and  in 
competent  officer,  General  Pope.  He  declared,  ' '  My  head 
quarters  are  in  the  saddle."  And  they  were.  He  was 
outgeneraled  by  Lee  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
August  30,  1862,  and  the  army  was  driven  to  take  shelter 
behind  the  forts  that  protected  Washington.  Indeed  for  a 
time  that  city  was  in  danger  of  capture.  Lee's  army  was 
in  front  of  Washington  before  ours.  The  department 
clerks  were  armed  and  put  in  the  intrenchments.  But 
soon  the  Union  soldiers  debarked  from  the  transports, 
marched  through  the  streets  of  Washington,  and  we 
breathed  freely  once  more. 

Pope  was  discredited  and  was  relieved.  But  with  the 
meanness  and  spite  characteristic  of  small  men  in  disgrace, 
he  endeavored  to  throw  the  discredit  of  his  defeat  upon 
what  he  alleged  to  be  the  treachery  of  General  Fitz-John 
Porter,  one  of  the  ablest  of  McClellan's  generals.  Porter 
was  court-martialed  and  condemned  to  be  shot.  President 
Lincoln  commuted  the  sentence.  Porter  finally  got  an  Act 
of  Congress,  permitting  the  case  to  be  reopened,  and  was 
able  to  show  that  the  testimony  against  him  was  prejudiced 
and  unfair,  and  that  he  had  really  handled  his  army  corps, 
just  landed  from  the  transports,  with  courage  and  ability. 
But  the  country  lost  his  services  which  were  needed. 


1  This  blunder  is  commented  on  in  Ropes'  History  of  the  Civil  War,  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  241-243,  and  in  Histoire  de  la  Guerre  Civile,  Comte  de  Paris,  tome 
lii.,  f.  441  et  seq. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  31 

And  now  the  triumphant  Lee,  finding  the  forts  of 
Washington  too  strong  for  him,  led  his  victorious  army 
down  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  crossed  the  Potomac,  seized 
the  fort  at  Harpers  Ferry,  and  invaded  Maryland.  His 
scouts,  according  to  a  report  made  to  me  by  my  cousin, 
Lewis  H.  Wheeler,  were  within  thirteen  miles  of  Baltimore 
on  the  fifteenth  of  September,  1862.  His  troops  were  in 
light  marching  order.  There  were  but  three  tents  in  the 
whole  army,  those  of  Lee,  Jackson  and  Ewell.  They 
hoped  for  a  general  rising  in  Maryland,  but  few  recruits 
joined  the  Confederate  Army  there. 

Pope's  disgraceful  defeat  had  led  men  to  cry  for  Mc- 
Clellan,  who  had  at  least  led  his  army  in  sight  of  Richmond, 
and  in  September  he  was  once  more  placed  in  command 
of  the  army  of  the  Potomac.  He  led  it  to  victory  at 
Antietam,  September  lyth,  1862.  Here  was  a  second 
opportunity  such  as  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  mortals. 
Had  he  followed  up  his  victory  with  vigor,  he  might 
have  crushed  Lee's  army.  Mr.  Lincoln  again  and 
again  urged  him  to  pursue  his  defeated  adversary.  But 
all  was  in  vain.  Lee  was  allowed  to  recross  the  Potomac 
and  retreat  at  his  leisure,  and  McClellan  was  once  more, 
November  7,  1862,  relieved  from  his  command.  Again 
he  thought  himself  a  martyr.  Many  good  citizens  who 
did  not  know  all  the  facts  believed  him  so  to  be. x 

Meanwhile  the  question  of  emancipation  of  the  slaves 
had  come  to  the  front.  Those  slaves  who  remained  on 
plantations  and  in  the  cities,  did  work  that  was  as  neces- 

1  A  graphic  story  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  relation  to  General  McClellan  is  to  be 
found  in  the  diary  of  Gideon  Welles.  , 


32         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

sary  to  the  existence  of  the  Confederacy  as  that  of  the 
armies  in  the  field.  The  North  began  the  war  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union,  but  we  came  to  feel  that  this 
could  not  be  accomplished  without  the  emancipation  of 
the  slaves. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  April,  1862,  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  was  abolished,  with  compensation  to  the 
owners  of  the  slaves.  In  June  of  the  same  year,  Congress 
passed  a  law  prohibiting  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the 
United  States,  which  it  then  owned  or  should  thereafter 
acquire.  On  the  seventeenth  of  July,  an  Act  was  passed 
setting  free  all  slaves  who  should  seek  the  protection  of 
the  Federal  Government,  if  their  owners  had  taken  part 
in  the  rebellion. 

President  Lincoln  urged  Congress  to  make  provision 
for  compensating  the  Southern  slaveholders,  if  they 
would  voluntarily  emancipate  their  slaves  and  return  to 
the  Union.  The  Southern  States  received  this  proposition 
with  scorn,  born  of  ignorance  of  the  temper  of  the  Northern 
people.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
should  have  prepared  a  Proclamation  of  Emancipation, 
which  he  read  to  his  Cabinet  on  the  twenty-second  of 
July,  1862.  Carpenter's  picture  has  made  us  familiar 
with  that  memorable  scene. 

Mr.  Lincoln  sought  Divine  guidance  most  earnestly 
during  this  period  of  storm  and  stress.  He  prayed  for 
victory,  and  resolved  not  to  issue  the  Proclamation  unless 
there  should  be  a  decided  victory  of  the  Union  Army. 
This  came  at  Antietam.  Five  days  after  that  victory  the 
preliminary  Proclamation  was  issued,  warning  the  South 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  33 

that,  unless  they  should  return  to  their  allegiance  within 
one  hundred  days  thereafter,  he  would  declare  all  the 
slaves  free  within  the  seceded  States.  The  warning  was 
unheeded,  and  on  the  first  of  January,  1863,  the  final 
Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued.  The  President's 
authority  to  do  this  under  the  Constitution  was  denied. 
Obviously  no  express  authority  had  been  granted.  Lin 
coln's  own  defense  of  his  action  was  the  best. 

"Measures  otherwise  unlawful  might  become  lawful  by 
becoming  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  the  Con 
stitution,  through  preservation  of  the  Nation.  Right  or 
wrong,  I  assume  this  ground." 

If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  waited  for  the  final  Proclamation 
until  after  another  victory,  it  would  not  have  been  issued 
on  the  first  of  January,  1863. 

When  McClellan  was  superseded,  Ambrose  E.  Burnside, 
of  Rhode  Island,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  Burn- 
side  was  an  excellent  Division  Commander,  and  had 
served  with  distinction  in  North  Carolina.  He  distrusted 
his  ability  to  command  an  army,  and  it  would  have  been 
well  for  him  and  for  the  country  if  he  had  adhered  to  his 
first  refusal  to  accept  the  position  of  Commander-in- 
Chief.  However,  he  did  accept  the  office  and  led  his 
army  to  the  Rappahannock,  opposite  Fredericksburg. 
The  only  possibility  of  success  in  such  a  movement  was  to 
cross  that  river  before  Lee  had  an  opportunity  to  fortify 
Marye's  Heights  on  the  south  bank.  Two  pontoon  trains 
were  sent  from  Washington  upon  which  it  was  expected 
the  troops  would  cross.  One  of  them  was  sent  by  water 
and  arrived  on  time.  The  other  was  sent  by  land,  stuck 


34         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

in  the  mud,  and  the  army  waited  for  a  week.  Meanwhile 
Lee  fortified  the  Heights,  and  when  the  pontoons  finally 
arrived  and  the  orders  were  given  to  advance,  the  Union 
Army  confronted  an  impossible  situation.  A  college 
friend  of  mine,  Dr.  George  E.  Post,  who  afterwards  became 
head  of  the  Medical  Mission  College  at  Beirut  and  was 
known  and  honored  throughout  Syria  for  his  devotion 
and  his  skill,  told  me  that  when  the  pontoon  train  com 
menced  to  lay  the  pontoons  at  the  upper  crossing,  sharp 
shooters  on  the  opposite  bank  picked  the  men  off  as  fast 
as  they  stepped  on  the  raft.  Again  and  again  men  were 
sent  forward,  but  every  man  who  set  foot  on  the  raft  was 
killed  or  mortally  wounded. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  general  in  command 
ceased  to  make  further  attempts.  Burnside  came  gallop 
ing  up  in  the  afternoon  and  inquired  why  the  pontoons 
were  not  laid.  The  reason  was  given,  and  he  asked  with 
just  anger,  "Why  did  you  not  send  a  regiment  across  at 
the  ford  farther  up  the  river,  and  drive  the  sharpshooters 
away  ? "  This  was  done,  but  too  late  for  crossing  that  day. 
The  next  morning  (December  13,  1862),  the  army  crossed 
on  the  two  pontoon  bridges,  and  again  and  again  charged 
up  Marye's  Heights.  Post  told  me  that  the  files  of  men 
as  they  fell  on  the  ground  under  the  Confederate  fire 
looked  like  the  swaths  of  grass  as  the  scythe  cuts  them 
down.1  We  lost  over  12,000  men.  "No  other  such 
useless  slaughter,"  says  General  Dodge,  "with  the  excep- 

1  "As  when  two  lines  of  reapers  face  to  face 

In  some  rich  landlord's  field  of  barley  or  wheat 
Move  on,  and  fast  the  severed  handfuls  fall. " 

Iliad. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  35 

tion  of  perhaps  Cold  Harbor,  occurred  during  the  war. " 
It  was  one  of  the  instances,  not  uncommon  in  military 
history,  where  a  general  does  not  know  how  to  coordinate 
his  forces,  and  fails  to  unite  them  in  concerted  action. 
General  William  B.  Franklin  commanded  the  Union  left 
wing.  He  had  orders  to  hold  his  corps  in  readiness  to 
cross  the  river  below  Fredericksburg  and  attack  the  Con 
federates  in  the  rear.  If  the  order  to  advance  had  been 
given  by  Burnside  it  might  have  saved  the  day.  But  it 
never  was  given;  and  the  battle  was  lost. 

Burnside  then  had  failed  disastrously  and  "fighting 
Joe  Hooker,"  as  he  was  called,  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  Hooker  also  was  an  excellent  Division  Commander, 
but  inadequate  to  the  command  of  a  great  army.  He 
determined  to  cross  the  river  farther  up.  His  forces  out 
numbered  Lee's,  two  to  one,  but  he  divided  them.  He 
failed  to  maintain  a  vigilant  outlook,  and  his  right  wing 
was  surprised. 

Carl  Schurz,  who  commanded  a  division  in  General 
Howard's  army  corps,  told  me  that  he  had  in  vain  urged 
upon  Howard  to  keep  skirmishers  out  well  upon  their 
flank.  He  had  observed  the  foxes  and  squirrels  running 
out  of  the  woods  and  was  sure  that  this  flight  was  caused 
by  the  advance  of  a  large  body  of  men.  But  Howard 
would  not  listen,  and  men  were  playing  cards  in  the 
trenches  when  the  Confederate  skirmishers  looked  over 
the  earthworks. 

The  defeat  at  Chancellorsville  (April  30,  May  1-4, 
1863),  was  more  disgraceful  than  that  at  Fredericksburg, 
and  the  Confederate  courage  was  correspondingly  in- 


36         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

creased,  notwithstanding  the  death  of  that  great  leader, 
Stonewall  Jackson.  Lee  felt  the  time  had  come  for  another 
invasion  of  the  North  and  prepared  to  move  his  army  once 
more  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

Meanwhile  these  repeated  defeats  had  brought  dis 
couragement  to  the  North.  Voluntary  enlistments  were 
insufficient  to  keep  up  the  army.  An  Act  of  Congress 
provided  for  conscription,  or,  as  we  called  it,  a  draft,  and 
preparations  were  made  in  many  of  the  Northern  States 
for  this  compulsory  method  of  recruiting  our  ranks.  It 
was  very  unpopular.  Just  as  Lee  had  reached  Pennsyl 
vania  and  met  the  Union  forces  at  Gettysburg,  draft 
riots  broke  out  in  New  York.  Most  of  the  militia  regi 
ments  of  New  York  had  been  sent  to  the  support  of 
General  Meade's  army  in  Pennsylvania.  For  three  days 
it  seemed  as  if  the  city  might  come  under  the  control  of 
the  mob.  Houses  were  burned,  among  them  the  Colored 
Orphan  Asylum,  which  then  stood  on  Fifth  Avenue  near 
Forty-fourth  Street.  The  offices  of  the  provost  marshals, 
who  were  to  conduct  the  draft,  were  destroyed.  Joseph  H. 
Choate  assisted  one  of  the  Abolition  champions  to  escape, 
leading  him  over  the  roofs  of  buildings  in  the  same  block 
and  down  through  another  house  which  was  remote  from 
their  attack. 

Governor  Horatio  Seymour  came  to  the  city  and  took 
up  his  headquarters  at  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel.  Leading 
citizens,  among  whom  was  my  father,  were  called  into 
his  councils.  I  was  asked  to  and  did  make  a  brief  as  to 
the  Governor's  power  in  such  cases.  It  was  determined 
to  use  all  possible  efforts  to  suppress  the  riot.  Seymour 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  37 

went  down  to  the  City  Hall  and  there  stood  in  a  window, 
addressed  a  crowd  in  the  park,  and  urged  them  to  disperse. 

The  habitual  phrase  with  which  Seymour  commenced  a 
speech  was  "My  friends."  He  used  this  phrase  in  his 
speech  to  the  mob,  and  was  bitterly  assailed  for  calling 
the  rioters  his  friends.  But  his  speech  did  good,  and  the 
vigorous  measures  which  he  adopted  and  the  efficient 
action  of  the  New  York  police  saved  many  buildings  from 
destruction,  among  them  the  Tribune  Building,  which 
was  an  object  of  partisan  bitterness. 

During  these  riots  all  public  methods  of  transportation 
in  the  city  were  suspended.  On  one  occasion  I  managed 
to  get  up-town  by  crossing  the  Barclay  Street  ferry  to 
Hoboken,  and  taking  an  uptown  ferry  to  Christopher 
Street,  then  pretty  well  up-town. 

After  the  victory  of  Gettysburg,  General  Butler  arrived 
on  the  scene  with  Federal  troops  and  talked  and  acted 
as  if  he  would  dominate  New  York  as  he  had  dominated 
New  Orleans.  But  his  vaporings  were  not  what  restored 
order  in  the  city.  That  was  achieved  before  he  came. 

It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  alarm  which  was  felt 
in  the  cities  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  when  Lee's  army 
had  advanced  into  Pennsylvania.  It  was  the  only  time 
during  the  Civil  War  when  any  considerable  Confederate 
Army  reached  a  point  in  the  Northern  States  north  of  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  line.  Nothing  but  Meade's  army  lay 
between  Lee  and  Philadelphia,  and  it  seemed  as  if  Stuart 
might  water  his  horses  in  the  Delaware.  Meade's  army 
was  there,  it  is  true;  but  Lee  had  defeated  Burnside.  He 
had  defeated  Hooker,  and  when  the  Confederate  regiments 


38         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

advanced  to  the  attack  at  Gettysburg,  it  seemed  that 
there  too,  they  might  be  successful.  Nothing  is  more 
honorable  to  the  Northern  troops  than  their  victory  on 
that  memorable  third  of  July,  1863.  They  fought  with  as 
much  courage  and  vigor  as  if  they  had  been  crowned  with 
victories,  instead  of  being  'overshadowed' by  defeats.  As 
a  last  desperate  effort,  Lee  sent  Picket t  with  thirteen 
thousand  Confederates  to  break  the  center  of  the  Union 
line.  They  advanced  with  dauntless  courage,  but  were 
swept  away  by  the  combined  fire  of  cannon  and  musketry. 
A  few  of  the  most  vigorous  did  actually  break  into  the 
Union  lines.  But  the  fire  was  overwhelming,  and  most  of 
the  men  that  shared  in  that  gallant  attack  were  left  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

Then,  Mr.  Schurz  told  me,  the  Union  soldiers  swarmed 
up  on  the  top  of  the  earthworks,  waved  their  colors  and 
their  hats.  Some  of  these  perched  their  hats"  on  the 
muzzles  of  their  guns  and  shouted  to  be  led  to  a  final 
charge.  It  might — it  probably  would — have  been  suc 
cessful  and  broken  Lee's  army  to  pieces. '  But  those  Con 
federate  troops  had  fought  so  well  on  so  many  battlefields, 
and  the  memory  of  their  valor  and  of  the  skill  of  their 
commanders  was  so  fresh  in  the  ~mind  of  Meade,  that 
he  did  not  give  the  order  to  attack,  and  Lee  was  allowed 
to  retreat.  Meade  followed  him  at  a  distance,  and  Lee 
found  refuge  in  his  native  Virginia  on  the  thirteenth 
of  July. 

When  the  news  of  victory  came  to  Rutland,  Vermont, 
where  a  serious  Fourth  of  July  celebration  was  going  on, 
it  was  received  with  the  same  acclamation  that  welcomed 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  39 

it  throughout  the  North.  But  the  band  had  the  bad  taste 
to  play  The  Rogue's  March.  There  were  some  who 
shared  the  bitterness  which  prompted  this  exultation, 
but  with  most  of  us  the  courage  and  daring  of  the  Con 
federate  troops  and  of  their  great  leader  had  won  respect 
and  admiration. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  good  news  of  Gettysburg 
reached  us,  there  came  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Vicks- 
burg.  It  had  from  the  first  been  one  of  the  objects  of  the 
Union  leaders  to  gain  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  and 
in  this  way  to  cut  the  Confederacy  in  two.  The  Con 
federate  stronghold  on  the  Mississippi  was  Vicksburg. 
The  fortifications  were  on  a  bluff  too  high  to  be  attacked 
by  the  fleet.  General  Grant  determined  to  send  the  fleet 
down  the  river,  running  the  gauntlet  of  the  Confederate 
batteries,  to  cross  the  Mississippi  with  the  army  below 
Vicksburg,  and  then  to  attack  the  Confederates,  under 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  were  covering  the  fortress. 
Thus  he  would  separate  Johnston  from  the  garrison  of  the 
city,  open  his  own  connections  with  the  North,  and  devote 
himself  to  the  siege  undisturbed.  All  this  he  accomplished 
successfully.  He  cut  loose  from  his  base  of  supplies 
entirely  for  a  time,  lived  upon  the  country  through  which 
he  marched,  defeated  Johnston,  and  completed  the  invest 
ment  of  Vicksburg.  Two  assaults  upon  the  city  were 
repulsed,  but  it  was  finally  starved  into  submission,  and 
surrendered  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1863. 

Nothing  is  more  honorable  in  Sherman's  Memoirs  than 
his  frank  acknowledgment  that  "the  campaign  of  Vicks 
burg,  in  its  conception  and  execution,  belonged  exclusively 


40         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  General  Grant,  not  only  in  the  great  whole,  but  in  the 
thousands  of  its  details. " 

A  curious  story  of  this  siege  is  told  by  one  of  the  North 
Carolinians  who  took  part  in  the  defense.  He  and  his 
brother  got  leave  to  go  in  a  dugout  into  some  of  the 
bayous  and  catch  fish  for  the  use  of  the'starving  garrison. 
They  had  strict  orders  not  to  fire  except  in  self-defense, 
and  promised  to  obey.  They  got  a  good  catch  of  fish,  and 
on  their  way  back  saw  a  camp-fire  on  an  island,  and  around 
it  Union  officers  in  council.  One  of  these  they  afterwards 
recognized  as  General  Grant.  One  of  the  Confederates 
raised  his  rifle  to  shoot,  but  his  brother  struck  down  the 
arm  and  cried,  "My  God!  Have  you  forgotten  your 
word  of  honor?"  The  shot  was  not  fired,  and  Grant's  life 
was  saved,  for  the  Confederate  was  a  dead  shot. 

General  Banks,  with  the  Nineteenth  Army  Corps,  had 
meanwhile  been  besieging  Port  Hudson,  below  Vicksburg, 
which  the  Confederates  had  converted  into  a  fortress. 
Several  assaults  had  failed,  but  our  trenches  were  pushed 
forward  till  we  were  prepared  to  explode  a  mine  under  the 
ramparts.  A  truce  was  asked  for  on  the  eighth  of  July, 
the  same  day  the  Confederates  surrendered,  and  by  the 
twelfth,  our  army  was  established  in  the  city. r 

It  is  hard  for  one  who  did  not  live  during  those  times  of 
storm  and  stress  to  realize  the  alternations  of  hope  and 
fear  with  which  the  news  in  the  daily  papers  was  received. 
There  were  many  victories,  but  there  were  also  many 
defeats.  New  York  City  was  not  the  scene  of  actual 
conflict,  but  the  Eastern  and  New  York  regiments,  on 

1  A  graphic  account  of  this  siege  is  in  Hosmer's  Color  Guard,  pp.  164-222. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  41 

their  way  South,  generally  came  by  rail  or  by  boat  to 
New  York  City,  were  stationed  for  a  day  or  two  in  the 
barracks  at  the  south  end  of  the  City  Hall  Park,  where  the 
Post  Office  Building  now  stands,  and  were  then  forwarded 
farther  south  either  by  sea  or  rail.  My  father's  office  and 
mine  was  directly  across  the  street  from  the  barracks,  and 
there  was  hardly  a  day  in  which  he  did  not  go  across 
Broadway  to  have  a  talk  with  some  of  the  soldiers.  He 
took  them  tobacco;  but  more  welcome  than  this,  he  took 
them  hearty  goodwill  and  friendly  feeling.  The  regiment 
that  interested  him  most  was  a  Maine  regiment  of  lumber 
men  from  Aroostook  County.  Every  man  was  over  six 
feet  high.  Father  was  six  feet  three,  and  he  rejoiced  to 
meet  these  Maine  giants.  There  was  a  sergeant  who  was 
six  feet  six.  As  father  shook  hands  with  the  sergeant  when 
they  parted,  he  said,  "I  hope  the  Lord  will  take  care  of 
you."  "Ah,"  said  the  frontiersman,  "if  He  don't,  He 
won't  understand  His  business." 

In  those  days  there  was  not  a  week  in  which  a  military 
funeral  did  not  pass  down  Broadway.  The  favorite  tune 
for  the  band  which  accompanied  these  funerals  was  the 
Portuguese  Hymn.  Many  a  time  have  I  seen  my  father 
pause  in  his  work,  sit  up  in  his  old  college  chair,  and 
listen  to  the  notes  as  they  came  in  through  the  open 
window. 

During  all  this  time  of  turmoil  the  question  of  finance 
was  constantly  becoming  more  important.  The  Govern 
ment  had  suspended  specie  payments  in  1861.  The 
customs  duties  were  payable  in  gold.  On  this  source  of 
income  it  relied  to  pay  the  interest  on  its  bonds,  which  it 


42         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

had  stipulated  should  be  paid  in  gold.  The  ordinary 
transactions  of  the  country,  however,  were  based  upon  the 
legal  tender  currency  which  Secretary  Chase  had  recom 
mended  to  Congress.  This  was  treated  as  par.  The 
nominal  value  of  the  gold  dollar  fluctuated.  There  was  a 
time  during  the  dark  days  of  1864,  when  a  gold  dollar  was 
worth  $2.80  in  currency. 

When  we  began  the  war  one  of  our  greatest  sources  of 
inconvenience  was  the  lack  of  silver  change.  I  went  to 
Canada  in  June,  1861,  and  was  absent  a  fortnight.  When 
I  left  "the  States,"  silver  was  in  common  use.  When  I 
returned,  not  a  piece  was  to  be  seen  and  people  were 
struggling  with  postage  stamps.  Cities  and  towns  issued 
little  notes  for  five,  ten,  twenty-five  and  fifty  cents. 
Finally  the  United  States  Government  provided  what  was 
known  at  first  as  "postal, "  and  afterwards  as  "fractional 
currency."  These  contrivances  formed  the  entire  cur 
rency  of  the  country  for  small  change  until  specie  pay 
ments  were  resumed  in  1879. 

And  now  let  us  return  to  this  victorious  month  of  July, 
1863.  The  confidence  of  the  North  in  the  successful  ter 
mination  of  the  war  steadily  increased  throughout  the 
rest  of  that  year.  Grant  won  the  decisive  battle  of 
Chattanooga,  November  23-25,  1863,  drove  the  Con 
federates  out  of  the  Tennessee  mountains  and  opened  the 
way  to  the  sea.  His  success  led  to  the  revival  of  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-general  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1864. 
He  was  immediately  appointed  to  this  position  and  soon 
after  was  made  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  armies  of 
the  Union.  He  assigned  Sherman  to  the  command  of  the 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  43 

Western  Army  and  he  himself  undertook  to  lead  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

Here  again  many  of  us  thought  that  politics  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  the  plan  of  campaign  that  was  adopted. 
McClellan  had  been  removed  from  command  and  was  at 
his  home  in  Trenton,  subject  to  order  but  receiving  none. 
He  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  political  debates,  and 
many  at  the  North  still  believed  in  him.  Naturally  the 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  looked  to  him  as  an 
available  candidate  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1864. 
Many  felt  that  McClellan's  plan  of  assaulting  Richmond 
from  the  south,  on  the  line  of  the  James  River,  was  the 
true  plan;  and  that  the  nature  of  the  country  between 
Washington  and  Richmond  was  such  that  the  Confederates 
could  not  be  defeated  if  assailed  on  that  line.  Therefore, 
when  Grant  undertook  to  march  directly  across  that 
rugged  and  broken  country,  which  was  aptly  called  the 
Wilderness,  and  to  attack  Lee  in  the  front,  many  thought 
that  the  wiser  plan  of  campaign  had  been  given  up  because 
to  adopt  it  would  have  been  to  reflect  credit  upon  the 
discarded  leader.  Certain  it  is  that  Grant's  frontal 
attacks  on  Lee  were  bloody  and  unsuccessful.  It  used  to 
be  said  among  the  soldiers  at  that  time,  that  the  order 
after  every  frontal  attack  had  been  repulsed  was,  for  the 
next  day, ' '  By  the  left— march. " 

The  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  (June  3,  1864),  was  the  most 
bloody  of  all  these  combats  in  the  Wilderness.  When  the 
first  assault  had  been  repulsed  with  terrible  bloodshed, 
an  order  to  repeat  it  was  received  by  the  troops  in  silence, 
and  by  common  consent  disobeyed.  They  knew  by  the 


44         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

experience  of  the  morning  that  success  was  impossible. 
Grant  saw  that  the  troops  were  right,  and  the  order  was 
recalled.  This,  at  any  rate,  was  the  story  told  me  by 
Brigadier-General  Titus,  who  was  there. 

After  Cold  Harbor,  Grant's  order,  * '  By  the  left— march, ' ' 
gradually  brought  the  Union  Army  to  the  James  River, 
and  he  began  the  siege  of  Petersburg.  General  Wilson,  in 
his  book,  Under  the  Old  Flag,1  describes  the  discourage 
ment  that  prevailed  in  the  army.  The  aggregate  Union 
losses  in  the  Virginia  campaign  from  May  5  to  June  12, 
1864,  were  39,259. 2 

The  discouragement  of  the  army  was  intensified  at 
home.  Soldiers'  letters  to  their  friends  expressed  it;  the 
newspaper  correspondents  told  it,  and  it  permeated  our 
people.  It  was  largely  responsible  for  the  declaration  in 
the  Democratic  platform  of  that  year  that  the  war  had 
proved  a  failure  to  restore  the  Union.  Voluntary  enlist 
ments  were  few,  yet  conscription  was  unpopular.  The 
Government  determined  the  quota  of  men  which  each 
district,  city,  town  or  county,  as  the  case  might  be,  should 
furnish.  These  municipalities  offered  large  bounties  to 
men  who  would  enlist  to  fill  their  quotas.  In  some  cases 
the  bounty  was  as  high  as  $800.  There  were  brokers  who 
made  a  business  of  supplying  recruits  to  fill  the  quotas. 
Finally  these  were  filled  and  the  depleted  ranks  replenished. 
This  practice  continued  through  the  latter  part  of  1863 
and  the  whole  of  1864. 

Meanwhile  there  were  many  extreme  Republicans, 
especially  those  who  had  been  before  the  war  Abolitionists, 

1  Vol.  L,  pp.  444-448.  »  Grant,  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.f  p.  290. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  45 

who  found  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  too  conservative.  They 
attacked  him  bitterly.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  silent  under  these 
attacks.  He  left  his  works  to  justify  him.  Many  friends 
were  ready  to  advocate  his  cause.  The  Progressives,  as 
they  would  have  probably  called  themselves,  had  they 
been  acquainted  with  the  vocabulary  of  1912,  finally 
withdrew  their  candidate,  John  C.  Fremont,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  received  undivided  Republican  support. 

Let  me  here  relate  an  anecdote  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  told  me 
by  W.  J.  A.  Fuller,  a  distinguished  New  York  lawyer  of 
those  times,  which  not  only  throws  light  upon  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  character  and  shows  one  reason  why  he  was  greatly 
beloved,  but  illustrates  the  conditions  which  prevailed 
during  the  war. 

During  the  dark  days  of  1864,  when  the  bloodshed  in  the 
Wilderness  threw  gloom  over  the  whole  North,  desertions 
from  the  Union  Army  increased,  and  an  order  was  sent 
from  the  War  Department  that  deserters  when  captured 
and  tried  should  be  shot.  Fuller  had  a  son  in  the  army 
who  received  a  furlough  to  go  home  and  visit  his  family. 
The  train  on  which  he  was  returning  to  the  army  met  with 
an  accident  and  young  Fuller  was  unable  to  reach  his 
regiment  within  the  time  limited  by  his  furlough.  He  was 
court-martialed  and  convicted  of  desertion  by  a  Board 
that  was  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  making  an 
example  and  would  listen  to  no  excuses.  Accordingly  he 
was  condemned  to  be  shot.  The  father  went  to  Washing 
ton,  told  his  story  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  Lincoln  wrote  with 
his  own  hand  an  order  to  the  Secretary  of  War  directing 
him  to  release  the  son  and  return  him  to  his  regiment. 


46         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Armed  with  this,  Fuller  went  to  see  the  Secretary.  He 
found  Mr.  Stanton  preoccupied.  Fuller  announced  his 
errand.  The  news  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  clemency  was  received 
with  anger  by  the  Secretary,  and  he  reached  out  his 
hand  for  the  President's  letter.  Fuller  thought  he  saw  in 
Stanton's  eye,  that  if  he  gave  this  to  Stanton  it  would  be 
torn  up  at  once  and  the  message  of  clemency  would  be 
unavailing.  He  said  to  Mr.  Stanton :  "I  will  give  this  to 
you  when  I  receive  from  you  the  order  for  my  son's 
release,  but  not  before. "  Stanton  broke  out  with  angry 
oaths,  but  Fuller  was  firm.  The  order  was  dictated  and 
signed  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  was  telegraphed  at 
once  to  the  front.  Young  Fuller  was  released,  and  later 
in  the  campaign  died  bravely  fighting  for  the  Union. I 

And  now  I  must  return  to  my  story  of  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  Democratic  Convention  which  met  at  Chicago  in 
August,  1864,  made  the  great  mistake  of  declaring  in  their 
platform  that  the  war  had  failed  to  restore  the  Union. 
The  statement  was  received  with  indignation  by  the  North. 
Whatever  had  been  the  result  up  to  that  time,  the  North 
was  almost  unanimously  determined  that  the  war  should 
not  be  a  failure,  and  that  the  Union  should  be  preserved. 

McClellan  was  clear-sighted  enough  to  perceive  this, 
and  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  he  declared  for  the  con 
tinuance  of  the  war  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  His 
supporters  conducted  the  campaign  upon  the  letter  of 
acceptance  and  not  upon  the  platform.  But  it  was  ob- 

1  The  account  which  Fuller  gave  me  of  his  interview  with  Stanton  is 
paralleled  by  an  account  which  General  Wilson  gives  in  his  book,  Under  the 
Old  Flag,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  53-58. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  47 

viously  impossible  to  change  the  President  during  such  a 
war.  McClellan  received  a  large  popular  vote  (1,802,237, 
as  against  2,213,665  for  Mr.  Lincoln),  but  in  the  Electoral 
colleges  there  were  only  twenty-one  to  vote  for  Mc 
Clellan  as  against  two  hundred  and  twelve  for  Lincoln. 
Lincoln's  phrase  that  "it  was  not  best  to  swap  horses  while 
crossing  a  stream, "  was  in  every  mouth  and,  like  many  of 
his  pithy  phrases,  was  an  argument  in  itself.  However,  it 
was  not  only  this  consideration  but  the  succession  of 
Union  victories  that  aided  the  Republican  cause.  Sheri 
dan  had  defeated  Early  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley; 
Sherman  had  captured  Atlanta;  Grant,  though  with 
terrible  losses,  had  inflicted  great  losses  upon  the  Con 
federate  Army.  The  blockade  had  become  effective. 

No  history  of  the  war  will  ever  be  complete  without  an 
adequate  account  of  this  blockade.  The  Confederate  sail 
ors  were  skillful  and  daring.  They  painted  their  blockade- 
runners  the  color  of  the  sea  and  taught  their  stokers  how 
to  throw  soft  coal  into  the  furnaces  a  little  at  a  time,  leave 
ample  air  space,  and  thus  consume  the  smoke.  They 
carried  to  England  millions  of  bales  of  cotton  which 
reached  at  one  time  the  price  of  one  dollar  a  pound.  The 
proceeds  of  this  cotton  were  security  to  the  holders  of 
Confederate  bonds  and  enabled  the  purchase  of  supplies 
of  all  sorts  for  the  people  of  the  South.  The  Southern 
States  had  been  almost  purely  agricultural  and  had  been 
dependent  upon  the  North  or  upon  Europe  for  many  of 
the  commonest  necessaries  of  life:  for  needles,  pins, 
nails,  tools,  machinery  of  all  kinds.  A  Confederate  lady 
who  lived  in  North  Carolina  during  the  war  told  me  that 


48         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

by  the  winter  of  1864  that  part  of  the  South  was  destitute 
of  needles.  Some  hand-looms  had  been  set  up.  The 
juice  of  the  butternut  was  used  as  a  dye.  But  in  many 
cases  when  the  clothes  were  cut  they  had  to  be  fastened 
together  with  thorns  from  the  trees,  as  there  was  nothing 
to  sew  them  together  with. 

The  Confederate  sick,  in  consequence  of  the  blockade, 
suffered  inexpressibly  from  the  want  of  medicines,  es 
pecially  quinine;  and  the  few  blocks  of  ice  that  were 
garnered  in  the  northern  districts  of  the  Confederate 
States  were  treasured  in  the  hot  summers  and  were  almost 
as  precious  as  gold.  Of  specie  in  circulation  there  was 
none.  The  Confederates  had,  early  in  the  war,  resorted  to 
a  legal  tender  currency.  These  notes  were  payable  six 
months  after  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  between 
the  North  and  the  Confederate  States.  In  one  sense, 
therefore,  they  were  never  dishonored,  because  they  never 
became  due.  Their  value  steadily  depreciated.  It  used 
to  be  said  that  a  man  would  go  to  a  shop  with  a  wheel 
barrow  full  of  Confederate  notes  and  come  back  with  a 
pocketful  of  goods. 

During  the  war,  the  people  of  the  Northern  seaboard 
cities  got  a  distinct  impression  of  the  rigor  of  the  blockade, 
when  Confederate  blockade-runners  were  brought  in  for 
condemnation.  One  in  particular,  the  Peterhof  with  a 
large  and  assorted  cargo,  was  brought  into  the  harbor  of 
New  York,  condemned  by  the  Prize  Court,  and  the  goods 
were  sold  at  auction  in  the  winter  of  1864-65.  There  were 
army  saddles,  cavalry  boots,  needles  and  pins ;  and  school 
books  that  had  been  printed  in  England  for  the  use  of  the 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  49 

Confederate  schools.  One  of  these  was  A  Geography  for 
Beginners.  It  contained  a  history  of  the  Confederate 
States,  beginning  with  an  account  of  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus  and  the  settlement  of  the  Atlantic 
coast;  of  the  French  and  Indian  Wars;  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  and  the  rest,  and  concluded  with  an  account 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  by  the  Confederate 
States.  It  glorified  their  early  successes  and  ended 
thus:1 

Every  effort  that  human  ingenuity  could  contrive,  or  im 
mense  resources  of  money  and  vast  armaments  on  sea  and 
land  could  accomplish,  was  made  by  the  Northern  Government 
to  capture  the  capital  and  other  important  places,  and  break 
up  the  political  organization  of  the  Confederacy. 

But  by  the  constant,  evident  and  acknowledged  aid  of  the 
God  of  Battles  and  King  of  Nations,  these  efforts  have  all 
failed;  and,  at  vast  expense  of  suffering  and  blood,  the  people 
of  the  Southern  States  have  fought  their  own  way  to  political 
independence,  and  the  respect  and  amity  of  the  great  nations 
of  the  world. 

One  of  the  unique  features  in  the  election  of  November, 
1864,  was  the  vote  by  proxy.  Most  of  the  Northern  States 
had  passed  laws  providing  for  the  soldiers'  vote.  Blanks 
were  prepared  and  printed,  to  be  signed  by  a  soldier  and 
sent  to  someone  in  the  North  whom  he  appointed  to  cast 
his  vote.  I  received  several  such  proxies  myself,  and  spent 
the  whole  November  day  in  voting  them  after  I  myself 
had  voted.  There  were  long  lines  at  the  polls.  The 

1  A  Geography  for  Beginners,  by  the  Rev.  J.  K.  Stewart,  Richmond,  Va.; 
J.  W.  Randolph,  1864,  p.  43. 
4 


50         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

interest  was  intense.  Every  registered  voter  tried  to  vote, 
and  the  number  of  polling  places  was  inadequate  for  the 
number  of  electors ;  so  that  when  the  sun  had  set  and  the 
polls  closed,  there  were  at  many  polling  places  long  lines 
of  those  who  had  not  yet  voted. 

During  that  memorable  winter  of  1864-65  we  received 
from  time  to  time  news  of  Sherman's  triumphant  march. 
The  story  of  that  has  often  been  told  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here.  It  must  be  said  that  Sherman's  army  did 
not  follow  Lee's  example.  Lee's  orders  when  he  invaded 
Maryland,  were  to  spare  private  property.1  It  seemed 
to  be  the  purpose  of  General  Sherman  to  destroy  as  much 
as  possible.  In  the  diary  of  Miss  Andrews,  which  has 
been  referred  to,  a  detailed  account  is  given  of  the  wanton 
destruction  of  supplies,  buildings  and  property  of  every 
sort  on  the  line  of  march  throughout  the  State  of  Georgia. 
Horses  and  cattle  were  killed  and  thrown  into  the  brooks. 
It  seemed  to  be  forgotten  that  the  war  was  for  the  restora 
tion  of  the  Union;  that  we  expected  these  Americans 
through  whose  land  our  troops  were  marching  would 
once  more  come  into  peaceful  relations  with  the  Govern 
ment,  and  that  it  was  not  for  the  interest  of  the  North 
that  they  should  be  impoverished.  One  cannot  wonder 
that  this  ravaging  army  left  many  bitter  memories  behind 
it  which  took  long  years  to  obliterate.  They  were  not 

1  "The  strictness  of  his  orders  in  regard  to  pillage  during  his  invasions 
of  the  North  is  well  known ;  but  they  were  not  only  strict  in  form,  but  were 
carried  out  in  fact,  as  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  his  enemies,  to  the 
lasting  glory  of  both  army  and  commander.  Violation  of  these  orders 
provoked  Lee's  wrath  more  than  anything  except  brutality,  and  when  he 
himself  detected  one  soldier  in  theft,  he  ordered  him  shot  at  once." — "Lee 
and  his  Army,"  p.  85,  Atlantic  Monthly,  July,  1911. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  51 

effaced  until  most  of  the  sufferers  had  died.  Sherman  said 
that  "war  was  hell. "  As  conducted  by  him,  it  was. x 

Meanwhile  it  became  obvious  to  most  of  the  Southern 
leaders  that  their  cause  was  hopeless,  and  President 
Davis  was  urged  to  endeavor  to  obtain  some  terms  for  the 
Southern  people.  He  appointed  commissioners  to  confer 
with  President  Lincoln.  The  President  went  to  Hampton 
Roads  and  there,  February  3,  1865,  conferred  with  the 
Confederate  commissioners,  of  whom  Mr.  Justice  Camp 
bell  (who  had  resigned  from  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  at  the  beginning  of  the  war)  was  one.  Lincoln 
again  offered  to  the  South  that  if  they  would  return  into 
the  Union  and  agree  to  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
the  North  would  compensate  the  owners  for  the  loss. 
Davis  never  appeared  to  less  advantage  than  when  he 
refused  this  offer.  Such  rejection  of  liberal  terms  was 
perhaps  never  shown  by  the  leader  of  a  lost  cause. 

Meanwhile  the  Union  Army  was  pressing  more  closely 
upon  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  Sherman  was  driving 
the  Confederate  Army  before  him  into  North  Carolina. 
A  notable  instance  of  courtesy  between  foes  was  told  me 
by  one  of  the  Union  officers. 

In  one  of  the  towns,  in  North  Carolina,  the  Confederate 

1  General  J.  H.  Wilson  (Under  the  Old  Flag,  p.  142)  thus  writes  of  the 
Western  Army  in  1862 :  "  The  columns,  encumbered  by  heavy  trains,  gave 
plenty  of  time  for  straggling  and  plundering,  both  of  which  were  new  and 
discouraging  to  me,  but  which,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  seemed  to  have  already 
become  the  habit  with  western  troops.  Not  much  effort  was  made  to  stop 
either,  and  consequently  I  was  frequently  called  upon  by  women  and 
children  for  protection,  which,  as  far  as  I  could,  I  freely  gave."  (See  also 
p.  213.)  This  was  written  in  1862  when  General  Wilson  was  Captain  of 
Engineers  on  General  Grant's  staff.  He  had  before  served  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 


52         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

commander  sent  back  a  flag  of  truce  offering  a  peaceful 
evacuation  of  the  town  if  the  Union  troops  would  send 
forward  a  guard  to  protect  the  peaceful  inhabitants.  The 
offer  was  accepted,  the  guard  was  placed  and  the  people 
of  that  town  at  least  were  secure  in  their  persons  and  their 
property. 

On  the  second  of  April,  1865,  the  Confederates  evacu 
ated  Petersburg.  News  reached  Richmond  at  once.  It 
was  brought  to  Jefferson  Davis  as  he  sat  in  his  pew  in 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Richmond,  which  has  since  become 
the  Westminster  Abbey  of  the  Confederacy.  He  read 
the  telegram,  rose  immediately,  went  out  of  the  church 
and  prepared  for  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  All  the 
men  in  the  church  followed  him;  not  one  was  left  but 
the  clergyman,  who  finished  the  service.  Mrs.  Burton 
Harrison  tells  us  that  he  gave  out  the  hymn  beginning 
with  the  line,  "When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view," 
and  that  the  whole  congregation,  as  they  strove  to  sing, 
burst  into  sobs.  They  knew  without  being  told  that  the 
end  of  the  Confederacy  had  come. 

The  Union  troops  entered  the  city  on  the  third  of  April, 
and  Grant  and  Sheridan  pushed  forward  with  vigor  to  cut 
off  and  capture  Lee's  army.  No  one  has  related  this 
campaign  better  than  General  Morris  Schaff  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly.  He  tells  two  stories  of  Lee's  last  campaign 
that  are  so  touching,  and  throw  such  a  light  upon  the 
strife  of  war,  that  I  must  repeat  them  here. 

In  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  an  officer  was 
found  sitting  on  the  turf  leaning  against  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  dead.  Before  he  died  he  had  reached  out  his  hand 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  53 

and  clasped  a  bunch  of  violets,  which  were  growing  at  his 
side.  They  were  still  held  fast  in  his  rigid  fingers. 

The  other  was  of  Wilson,  a  color-bearer  of  the  Four 
teenth  Virginia  Cavalry,  who  was  mortally  wounded  at 
the  last  battle  before  Appomattox.  He  said  to  his  friend, 
"It  is  hard  to  die  just  as  the  war  is  over."  For  he  and 
all  the  rest  knew  well  that  the  end  of  the  war  had  come. 
Schaff  thinks  that  this  last  desperate  stand  that  Lee 
made,  is  to  be  commended,  and  that  it  was  largely  due 
to  the  apprehension  that  dishonorable  terms  would  be 
imposed  upon  the  defeated  Confederates.  To  me  it  seems 
the  one  great  mistake  in  Lee's  military  life. 

One  notable  thing  Schaff  mentions  that  ought  not  to  be 
forgotten.  Many  had  left  the  Confederate  ranks,  and 
scattered  over  the  hills,  knowing  that  further  efforts  were 
vain;  but  none  of  the  standard-bearers  forsook  their 
colors  and  the  banners  flew  in  every  regiment,  skeleton 
though  it  had  become,  in  their  last  battle  on  Palm  Sunday. 

Then  Lee  surrendered  at  the  Court  House  at  Appomat 
tox  that  very  afternoon,  April  9,  1865.  The  officers  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  side  arms,  their  baggage,  and  their 
horses.  They  were  paroled  not  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  United  States,  and  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United 
States  authorities.  Before  they  separated,  these  hungry 
heroes  received  some  good  meals  at  the  hands  of  their 
hospitable  captors.  If  the  settlement  of  the  war  had  been 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  great  soldiers  on  both  sides,  whose 
name  and  fame  will  ever  be  bright  in  history,  we  should 
have  had  a  more  satisfactory  solution  than  that  which 
actually  came. 


54         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  news  of  Lee's  surrender  reached  New  York  just 
before  Good  Friday,  April  I4th.  There  probably  never 
was  in  that  city  such  a  joyful  population  on  that  great 
day,  on  which  a  large  part  of  the  Christian  world  com 
memorates  the  death  of  its  Founder.  That  evening,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  worn  with  the  four  years  of  incessant  labor  and 
responsibility,  and  quite  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
task  that  lay  before  him,  went  to  Ford's  Theater  in 
Washington,  and  there  he  was  killed  by  Wilkes  Booth. 

Speaking  of  the  tidings  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  Miss 
Andrews  says,  in  the  book  I  have  referred  to: 

"Some  fools  laughed  and  applauded,  but  wise  people 
looked  grave  and  held  their  peace.  It  is  a  terrible  blow 
to  the  South."1 

It  is  hard  to  express  the  grief  and  horror  that  pervaded 
the  North,  and  to  a  large  extent  the  civilized  world.  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  justified  himself  in  the  eyes  of  all  mankind. 
The  usual  flowers  and  other  signs  of  joy  were  removed 
from  the  churches  on  that  sorrowful  Easter,  and  many  of 
them  were  hung  with  black. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  body  lay  in  state  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington.  It  was  taken  through  many  of  the  Northern 
cities  and  finally  interred  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  the 
fourth  of  May.  Everywhere  it  was  received  with  demon 
strations  of  honor  and  respect.  It  was  placed  on  the 
platform  in  the  center  of  the  City  Hall  in  New  York,  and 
from  early  morn  'till  dark  a  succession  of  people,  men, 
women,  and  children,  streamed  through  the  rotunda,  to 
look  upon  the  peaceful  and  resolute  face  of  our  great  and 

1  Journal  of  a  Georgia  Girl,  p.  172. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  55 

martyred  President.  (St.  Gaudens  has  reproduced  it  in 
his  statue  at  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago.)  I  was  one  of  that 
multitude.  I  never  saw  at  any  other  time  such  a  universal 
demonstration  of  affection  and  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  any 
public  man. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1865,  Johnston  surrendered 
to  Sherman,  and  Sherman  agreed  to  terms  for  that 
surrender,  which  provided  for  the  acquiescence  of  the 
Southern  States  in  the  results  of  the  war,  and  for  the 
recognition  by  the  Federal  Government  of  the  existing 
State  governments  of  the  South,  and  the  reception  into 
Congress  of  representatives  from  the  South.  This  seemed 
to  General  Sherman  to  be  the  logical  result  of  a  war  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Union.  It  may  be  that  if  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  lived  these  terms  would  substantially  have  been 
ratified.  But  his  death  left  too  deep  a  scar  to  make  that 
possible. 

Andrew  Johnson  had  become  President,  and  he  and 
Secretary  Stanton  repudiated  the  terms  which  Sherman 
had  offered  his  defeated  foe,  and  manifested  to  Sherman 
censure,  which  the  latter  seriously  resented.  Indeed  there 
was  talk  of  arresting  Sherman,  but  that  was  futile. 
Johnston's  final  surrender  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  April 
was  on  the  same  terms  ac  Grant  had  given  Lee. 

Sherman's  army  marched  forward  to  Washington  and 
encamped  on  the  hills  across  the  Potomac.  It  passed  in 
review  before  its  great  chieftain  and  numerous  officials 
of  the  Government.  This  review  I  witnessed.  I  had  often 
seen  the  regiments  forming  part  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  which  had  been  reviewed  the  day  before,  and 


56         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

wanted  to  witness  the  triumph  of  the  victorious  Western 
Army  which  had  marched  from  Atlanta  to  Washington. 
Their  files  extended  all  the  way  across  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  from  curb  to  curb.  There  were  seventy  thousand 
men  in  line.  They  marched  with  the  spring  and  elasticity  of 
veterans.  Their  worn  uniforms  showed  the  hardships 
through  which  they  had  passed.  Many  of  the  regiments  had 
mascots:  a  dog;  a  monkey;  and  one  of  the  Wisconsin 
regiments  had  contrived  to  get  hold  of  an  eagle  that  they 
carried  with  them.  United  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
that  had  marched  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue  the  day  before, 
there  was  no  army  in  the  world  that  could  have  made  head 
against  them,  and  no  generals  of  such  proved  skill  as  their 
two  leaders,  Grant  and  Sherman. 

Sherman  had  not  forgotten  the  snub  that  Stan  ton  had 
administered  to  him,  and  as  he  stood  on  the  platform  in 
front  of  the  Treasury  Building  and  reviewed  the  host  that 
he  had  commanded  so  long,  he  refused  to  recognize 
Stanton  and  ignored  the  presence  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Most  of  the  regiments  on  both  sides  gradually  returned 
to  their  homes  and  were  swallowed  up  in  the  general 
ocean  of  business  and  manifold  activities,  and  in  the  new 
West.  Probably  never  had  such  vast  armies  disbanded 
so  quietly  and  taken  their  place  so  easily  in  the  fabric  of 
civilized  life.  No  greater  evidence  could  be  given  of  the 
stability  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  character  of  citizenship  that  it  had  postered  during 
the  years  since  1776. 

Thus  have  I  tried  to  tell  the  story  of  the  war  as  it 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  57 

appeared  to  a  young  New  York  lawyer.  There  are  some 
characteristic  features  of  the  great  struggle  which  I  must 
in  conclusion  record. 

At  the  beginning  it  became  obvious  that  the  army 
hospital  service  was  inadequate  for  the  exigencies  of  the 
bloody  campaigns.  There  sprung  up,  almost  by  magic,  in 
various  places  near  the  scenes  of  hostilities  and  particularly 
in  Washington,  temporary  hospitals.  Those  in  Washing 
ton  were  mostly  frame  sheds,  erected  between  Pennsyl 
vania  Avenue  and  the  Potomac,  and  thither  the  sick  and 
wounded  from  the  Peninsular  Campaigns  were  mostly 
brought.  From  every  Northern  State  came  volunteer 
nurses.  Nothing  can  adequately  tell  the  story  of  the 
devotion  of  these  noble  women  who  assisted  in  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  wounded. 

It  soon  became  obvious  that  the  provision  made  by  the 
Government  for  feeding  and  supplying  the  troops  in  the 
field  was  inadequate.  An  army  had  been  created  out  of 
civilians.  The  regular  army  had  been  small  in  number, 
and  its  staff  was  insufficient  for  the  business  of  the  war. 
The  regular  army  was  largely  increased,  and  did  noble 
service.  No  division  had  more  glory  than  Sykes'  division 
of  regular  troops.  But  the  battles  of  the  war  were  mainly 
fought  by  volunteer  regiments  from  the  various  States, 
named  after  the  States  from  which  they  came ;  commanded 
as  far  as  possible  by  West  Point  men.  Without  the  West 
Point  Military  Academy  and  the  training  it  gave,  we 
never  should  have  succeeded.  To  supply  the  armies  with 
more  food  and  clothing  and  hospital  supplies  than  the 
Federal  or  State  governments  could  furnish  was  the  work 


58         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

of  two  commissions:  the  United  States  Christian  Com 
mission  and  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission. 
These  were  well  organized.  They  raised  large  sums  of 
money  by  voluntary  subscription,  and  their  officers  and 
agents  were  with  every  division  of  the  army  and  rendered 
great  assistance  to  the  cause.1 

One  of  the  most  notable  expressions  of  the  general  zeal 
for  the  support  of  these  organizations  was  in  sanitary 
fairs,  held  in  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Philadelphia  and  other 
cities.  The  largest  was  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1864. 
It  had  its  headquarters  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  but 
there  were  booths  and  temporary  buildings  in  Union 
Square.  Everything  that  could  be  imagined  was  on  sale. 
Artists  donated  paintings.  A  valuable  collection  came 
from  Dusseldorf,  Germany.2  Celebrated  authors  sent 
books  with  autographs.  There  was  hardly  a  person  who 
did  not  contribute  something  towards  the  success  of  that 
fair.  Gifts  came  from  all  over  Europe.  The  fair  produced 
the  sum  (very  great  for  those  days)  of  one  million  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  was  expended  under  the 
direction  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  for  the  good  of  the 
soldiers. 

These  voluntary  activities  of  the  Northern  people  were 
occasioned  in  part  by  the  greed  and  meanness  of  some  army 
contractors,  whojfailed  to  keep  their  contracts  and  supplied 
the  soldiers  with  unfit  provisions.  The  horses  and  mules 
fared  no  better.  The  war  Democrats,  of  whom  I  was  one, 


1  See,  for  example,  Hosmer,  Color  Guard,  pp.  173,  175,  178. 

a  An  autographed  list  of  these  generous  artists  hangs  on  the  walls  of  the 
Century  Club,  New  York  City. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  59 

made  it  part  of  their  business  to  cry  aloud  against  these 
cheating  contractors,  whom  Napoleon  would  have  shot. 
We  were  also  ready  to  assail  the  obstinacy  and  arrogance 
of  Secretary  Stanton,  and  were  sometimes  called  Copper 
heads  for  our  pains.  We  did,  however,  in  our  appeals  to 
Mr.  Lincoln,  but  repeat  Milton's  adjuration  to  Lord 
Fairfax  during  the  English  Civil  War: 

O  yet  a  nobler  task  awaits  thy  hand, 

(For  what  can  war  but  endless  war  still  breed?) 
Till  truth  and  right  from  violence  be  freed, 

And  public  faith  freed  from  the  shameful  brand 
Of  public  fraud.     In  vain  doth  Valour  bleed 

While  Avarice  and  Rapine  share  the  land. 

No  one  gave  a  more  appreciative  description  of  the 
condition  of  the  United  States  after  the  war  than  Richard 
Cobden  in  a  letter  to  Thomas  Balch  under  date  of  Febru 
ary  17,  1865. 

When  the  war  ceases  you  will  be  like  two  line-of -battle  ships 
after  a  desperate  struggle:  all  hands  will  be  required  to  clear 
the  wreck,  repair  damages  in  hull  and  rigging,  look  after  the 
wounded,  and  bring  in  the  dead.  There  will  be  great  suffering 
among  all  classes,  before  you  return  to  a  normal  state  of  things. 
You  have  been  in  a  saturnalia  of  greenbacks  and  Government 
expenditure,  which  may  be  likened  to  the  pleasant  excitement 
of  alcohol.  But  peace  will  be  the  headache  after  the  debauch, 
with  the  unpleasant  tavern  reckoning. x 

Those  who  have  lived  through  the  present  war  in 
Europe  can  realize  something  of  the  conditions  of  the  Civil 
War.  The  newspapers  then  were  full,  as  they  are  now, 
of  news  from  the  front.  Some  of  the  contrivances  for 

1  International  Courts  of  Arbitration,  Balch  (4th  ed.),  p.  23. 


60          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

slaughter  that  have  since  been  invented  were  then  un 
known.  We  had  no  breech-loading  cannon  or  rifles,  but  the 
effect  of  the  bullets,  the  shot,  and  the  shell  was  much  the 
same.  The  description  of  the  trenches  at  Port  Hudson  in 
Hosmer's  Color  Guard  (p.  207)  is  not  unlike  the  descrip 
tions  of  those  that  extend  from  Alsace  to  the  sea.  As  I 
read  the  tales  that  come  from  the  front  in  Belgium  and 
Verdun,  I  am  reminded  of  the  account  of  Port  Hudson,  as 
Hosmer  saw  it  after  the  surrender: 

From  this  point,  we  soon  came  to  the  memorable  angle 
where  our  sap  approached.  Every  step,  the  evidences  of  the 
past  storm  became  more  numerous.  The  trees  had  lost  their 
tops,  the  shells  had  hollowed  out  huge  holes  in  the  ground,  and 
even  weeds  and  bushes  showed  where  the  fire  had  swept.  We 
came  fairly  to  the  outer  works ;  and  here  the  appearance  of 
things  was  as  if  a  tornado  had  swept  across,  whose  hail  had  had 
the  power  to  penetrate  everything ;  or  rather  as  if  the  spot  had 
received  such  a  fiery  storm  as  fell  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
The  few  trees  still  standing  were  splintered  into  match-wood 
up  their  sides,  or  had  lost  their  tops;  and,  in  some  cases,  the 
solid  balls  had  pierced  them  through  and  through,  leaving  them 
standing,  tall  and  thick,  with  perforated  trunks!  The  rough 
buildings  near,  which  we  had  been  able  to  see  so  plainly  were 
shattered  in  every  way;  and  hardly  a  square  foot  could  be 
found  upon  their  timbers  not  marked  by  a  bullet.  The  surface 
of  the  earth  was  ploughed  and  seared;  the  sand-bags  on  the 
breastwork,  that  I  had  looked  at  so  often  from  our  cover,  were 
pierced  and  powder-stained;  and,  in  the  old  rifle-pits,  bloody 
sacking  told  where  there  had  been  killed  and  wounded  men. I 

One  great  advance  must  be  noted.  Medical  science  has 
taught  man  how  to  cure  wounds  that  formerly  were  fatal, 
and  to  prevent  or  heal  disease  that  once  was  mortal.  The 

1  Color  Guard,  p.  224. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  61 

percentage 'of  deaths  from  wounds  and  sickness  is  in  1916 
not  half  what  it  was  in  the  Civil  War. r 

I  must  close  this  chapter  with  some  endeavor  to  express 
the  feeling  of  our  people  as  I  saw  it  at  the  end  of  the  war. 
There  was  scarce  a  house  in  which  there  was  not  one  dead. 
Exultation  at  our  success  was  shadowed  by  grief  for  the 
past  and  apprehension  for  the  future.  As  we  looked  back 
over  the  years  that  had  passed  since  the  first  warnings  of 
secession  were  given,  we  were  reminded  of  the  words  with 
which  Milton  closes  the  Paradise  Lost : 

They  looking  back,  all  the  Western  face  beheld, 

Of  Paradise,  so  late  their  happy  seat, 

With  dreadful  faces  thronged  and  fiery  arms. 

We  have  passed  through  the  era  of  Reconstruction.  It 
is  over  fifty  years  since  the  close  of  the  war.  The  Union  is 
restored,  and  more  prosperous  than  ever.  But  who  in 
1865  could  foresee  that  it  would  be  so?  Who  could  look 
without  doubt  and  apprehension  upon  the  future?  How 
the  negroes  would  accept  and  use  their  newly  acquired 
freedom  it  was  impossible  to  foresee.  The  discipline  of 
slavery  was  withdrawn.  It  was  too  much  to  expect  that 
there  should  not  be  some  excesses.  It  was  natural  that 
many  of  the  freedmen  should  be  unwilling  to  work  and 
think  that  freedom  meant  comparative  idleness. 

Roswell  D.  Hitchcock  expressed  an  optimism  on  the 
subject  that  many  thought  rash.  I  heard  him  cry  in  an 
address,  "You  ask  me  what  shall  be  done  with  the  blacks? 

1  During  the  Civil  War,  280,420  Union  soldiers  died  in  the  service.  Of 
these  over  60,000  died  in  battle,  35,000  of  wounds  received  in  battle,  and 
1 84,33 1  died  of  disease. 


62          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

I  answer,  What  shall  be  done  with  the  redheaded  men?*' 
People  that  knew  the  South  knew  that  this  was  not  an 
adequate  answer,  but  none  could  tell  what  the  answer 
would  be.  To  make  it  has  required  fifty  years  of  evolution, 
and  still  we  have  the  problem,  not  yet  completely  solved. 

To  solve  it,  wise  men  of  both  sections  and  of  both  races 
have  given  thought  and  prayers  and  "money  and  personal 
service.  Armstrong,  Frissell,  Booker  Washington,  Russell 
and  many  more  have  been  wise  and  devoted  leaders.  The 
United  States 'Government  has  not  done  all  it  might  do. 
But  it  has  done  something.  And  some  men  who  fought 
the  South  have  striven  to  make  reparation  for  the  devas 
tation  of  war.  When  J.  J.  Spalding,  of  Atlanta,  went  to 
Washington  in  1894  to  ask  for  an  appropriation  for  the 
Atlanta  Exposition,  he  interested  Mr.  Cogswell,  of 
Massachusetts.  While  the  latter  was  making  a  speech  in 
support  of  the  appropriation,  a  member  from  Tennessee 
asked  him  why.  Cogswell  replied:  "I  was  in  the  Union 
Army,  that  under  orders  burned  Atlanta.  Now  I  wish 
to  make  some  reparation."  There  was  great  applause 
and  the  appropriation  went  through  with  a  rush. 

Thirty  years  after  the  war  I  went  on  business  to 
Columbia,  South  Carolina.  There  I  saw  an  old  Confeder 
ate  officer  superintending  the  work  of  convicts  who  were 
building  a  canal  for  the  State  around  the  rapids  of  the 
Congaree.  The  habit  of  command  which  he  had  acquired 
in  the  army  stood  him  in  good  stead.  The  men  appeared 
to  be  well  treated,  and  were  certainly  better  off  than  if 
they  had  been  engaged  in  labor  inside  the  prison. 

On  the  same  visit  I  saw  the  Confederate  monument 


THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1862-1865  63 

which  had  been  erected  in  the  capital  of  South  Carolina 
to  the  Confederate  veterans.  The  inscription  was  written 
by  Mr.  Trescott,  who  had  been  in  the  diplomatic  service 
of  the  Confederacy.  A  more  perfect  expression  of  honor 
and  regret  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  Let  it,  then,  sum  up 
this  brief  account  of  the  great  Civil  War : 

INSCRIPTION  ON  CONFEDERATE  MONUMENT  AT  COLUMBIA, 
SOUTH  CAROLINA 

On  the  Northern  Face 

ERECTED  BY  THE  WOMEN 

OF 
SOUTH  CAROLINA 

On  the  Eastern  Face 

LET  THE  STRANGER 

WHO  MAY  IN  FUTURE 

READ  THIS  INSCRIPTION 

RECOGNIZE    THAT    THESE    WERE    MEN 

WHOM    POWER   COULD    NOT    CORRUPT 

WHOM  DEATH  COULD  NOT  TERRIFY 

WHOM  DEFEAT  COULD  NOT  DISHONOR 

AND  LET  THEIR  VIRTUES  PLEAD 

FOR  JUST  JUDGMENT 

OF  THE  CAUSE  IN  WHICH  THEY  PERISHED. 

LET    THE    SOUTH    CAROLINIAN 

OF   ANOTHER   GENERATION 

REMEMBER 

THAT   THE   STATE   TAUGHT   THEM 

HOW  TO  LIVE  AND  HOW  TO  DIE 

AND    THAT    FROM    HER    BROKEN    FORTUNES 


64          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

SHE    HAS    PRESERVED    FOR    HER    CHILDREN 

THE  PRICELESS  TREASURE  OF  THEIR  MEMORY 

TEACHING  ALL  WHO  MAY  CLAIM 

THE   SAME   BIRTHRIGHT 

THAT  TRUTH  COURAGE  AND  PATRIOTISM 

ENDURE  FOREVER. 

On  the  Western  Face 

THIS  MONUMENT 
PERPETUATES  THE  MEMORY 

OF  THOSE  WHO 

TRUE  TO  THE  INSTINCTS  OF  THEIR  BIRTH 
FAITHFUL  TO  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THEIR  FATHERS 

CONSTANT  IN  THEIR  LOVE  FOR  THE  STATE 
DIED  IN  THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  THEIR  DUTY; 

WHO 

HAVE  GLORIFIED  A   FALLEN  CAUSE 

BY   THE   SIMPLE   MANHOOD   OF   THEIR   LIVES 

THE  PATIENT  ENDURANCE  OF  SUFFERING 

AND  THE  HEROISM  OF  DEATH 

AND  WHO 

IN  THE  DARK  HOURS  OF  IMPRISONMENT 

IN  THE  HOPELESSNESS  OF  THE  HOSPITAL 

IN  THE  SHORT  SHARP  AGONY  OF  THE  FIELD 

FOUND  SUPPORT  AND  CONSOLATION 

IN  THE  BELIEF 
THAT  AT  HOME  THEY  WOULD  NOT  BE  FORGOTTEN 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,    1865-1871 

WHEN  Andrew  Johnson  had  taken  the  oath  of  office 
as  President  and  retained  all  the  members  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Cabinet,  we  began  to  consider  what  was  next  to  be  done. 
The  excitement  of  the  war  had  not  subsided.  The  anger 
and  indignation  that  had  been  aroused  by  the  assassi 
nation  of  Mr.  Lincoln  were  hot.  But  the  activities  at  the 
North  that  had  been  brought  into  existence  by  the  neces 
sity  of  raising,  equipping  and  supplying  numerous  and 
powerful  armies,  stopped. 

The  tragical  story  of  the  march  of  the  disbanded  South 
ern  regiments  through  Georgia  on  their  way  to  Louisi 
ana,  Mississippi  and  Texas  is  told  in  the  diary  of  Miss 
Andrews,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 
The  South  was  impoverished;  its  system  of  labor  was 
disorganized.  The  destruction  that  had  been  wrought 
during  the  war,  particularly  by  Sherman's  army  in  its 
march  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah,  and  thence  through 
South  Carolina,  had  left  the  Southern  States  in  deplorable 
condition.  Many  of  their  bravest  and  strongest  had  been 
killed,  many  survivors  of  the  war  were  disabled  by  wounds 
and  by  disease.  It  was  essentially  a  case  for  such  liberal 
treatment  as  the  British  showed  the  Boers  after  the  con- 
s  65 


66         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

elusion  of  the  South  African  War.  It  should  have  been 
the  pleasure  of  the  North  to  rebuild  the  colleges,  school- 
houses,  and  churches  that  our  troops  had  burned.  It 
should  have  been  the  pleasure  (as  it  was  the  duty)  of  the 
North  to  make  payment  for  the  provisions  that  had  been 
taken  for  the  use  of  the  Union  armies.  This  at  least  we 
might  have  done.  Perhaps  all  this  would  have  been 
done  had  it  not  been  for  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  His 
great  heart  was  always  ready  to  meet  the  South  half 
way.  The  Northern  people  would  have  followed  him  in 
any  measures  for  liberal  treatment  of  the  South,  for  they 
trusted  and  loved  him.  But  his  assassination  not  only 
deprived  us  of  his  leadership,  but  roused  a  feeling  of 
anger  and  revenge  in  many  a  Northern  breast,  that  pre 
vented  the  Government  from  doing  affirmatively  any 
thing  to  help  the  South  in  its  struggle  to  get  on  its  feet 
again. 

Yet  there  were  many  Northern  people  whose  hearts 
were  open  to  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  South  whom  we 
had  been  fighting  for  the  last  four  years,  and  who  felt  it 
to  be  a  duty  to  go  there  and  use  their  capital  to  reinstate 
the  Southern  industries. 

My  cousin,  General  William  F.  Bartlett,  just  gradu 
ated  from  Harvard,  had  gone  into  the  army  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war.  He  lost  a  leg  in  the  service,  but 
notwithstanding  this  disability,  joined  in  the  assault  after 
the  explosion  at  the  crater  at  Petersburg,  was  again 
wounded  there,  and  when  he  was  carried  off  the  field,  his 
life  was  despaired  of.  However,  he  recovered,  and  set  in 
operation  iron-works  at  Richmond.  Massachusetts  hon- 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871     67 

ored  herself,  when  she  erected  a  statue  to  him  in  the 
State  House  on  Beacon  Hill. 

Other  Northerners  went  still  farther  south  and  bought 
plantations.  These  were  to  be  had  at  prices  less  than 
half  what  they  had  commanded  before  the  war.  In 
many  cases  the  purchasers  found  that  the  price  continued 
to  decline,  and  where  they  had  bought  on  credit  they 
often  lost  their  entire  investment.  The  era  of  Recon 
struction  with  its  corrupt  administration  and  excessive 
taxation  was  most  burdensome  to  the  agricultural  interest, 
which  was  then  and  still  is,  predominant  in  the  South. 

The  first  question  that  arose  after  the  surrender  of  the 
armies  of  Lee  and  Johnston  and  the  cessation  of  armed 
resistance  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  was  whether 
the  Southern  States  had  by  secession  forfeited  their 
rights  under  the  Constitution,  or  whether,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  should  be  considered  as  integral  parts  of  the 
Union  with  rights  unimpaired  by  the  attempt  of  indi 
viduals  to  secede  and  form  a  new  government.  On  this 
point  the  national  parties  divided.  The  Republican 
party,  under  the  leadership  of  Stanton,  Wade,  Sumner 
and  Thad  Stevens,  maintained  that  the  Southern  States 
had  forfeited  all  their  Constitutional  rights,  and  were  to 
be  treated  as  conquered  territory.  In  view  of  the  frequent 
declarations  which  were  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
and  at  various  periods  throughout  its  course,  that  the 
object  of  the  war  was  to  restore  the  Union,  this  position  was 
inconsistent.  It  was  not  long  before  the  President, 
and  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  took  the  ground 
that  while  individuals  might  be  punished,  the  States,  as 


68         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

such,  were  in  the  Union  still  and  entitled  to  representation 
in  Congress.  We  did  not  know  at  the  time,  what  has 
since  been  made  clear  by  the  publication  of  the  diary 
of  Gideon  Welles,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  that  he 
supported  Johnson  and  Seward  in  this  contention. 

This  also  was  the  contention  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  distinctly  avowed  in  the  platform  adopted 
at  its  National  Convention  held  in  New  York  in 
1868. 

Meanwhile  the  Republican  majority  in  Congress  had 
undertaken  to  provide  by  constitutional  amendment  for 
the  greater  security  of  the  results  which  had  been  achieved 
by  the  war.  The  first  of  these,  the  Thirteenth  Article, 
was  adopted  almost  unanimously.  It  provides : ' '  Neither 
slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment 
for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con 
victed,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction."  This  was  proclaimed 
December  18,  1865. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  gave  rise  to  more  debate. 
The  object  of  its  first  clause  was  to  prevent  the  Southern 
States  from  depriving  enfranchised  negroes  of  life,  liberty, 
or  property,  and  from  denying  to  them  the  equal  pro 
tection  of  the  laws.  The  second  clause  in  effect  repealed 
the  third  clause  of  the  second  section  of  Article  I.  of 
the  Constitution,  which  gave  to  the  slave  States  rep 
resentation  in  Congress  by  adding  to  the  whole  number 
of  free  persons  "three-fifths  of  all  other  persons."  By 
the  second  clause  of  the  Fourteenth  Article,  representa 
tives  were  to  be  apportioned  among  the  Southern  States 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871     69 

according  to  the  respective  population,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State: 

but  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  ...  is  denied  to 
any  of  the  male  members  of  such  State,  being  of  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way 
abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion,  or  other  crime, 
the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the 
proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to 
the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age 
in  such  State. 

The  reason  for  the  adoption  of  this  clause  was  the 
disposition  which  had  been  shown  by  some  of  the  newly 
formed  Southern  legislatures  to  abridge  the  right  of  suffrage 
or  deny  it  altogether  to  the  negroes.  The  ten  Southern 
States  which  had  seceded  and  also  Delaware,  Kentucky 
and  Maryland,  rejected  this  amendment.  But  sub 
sequently  Congress  made  it  plain  that  unless  it  should 
be  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  the  seceded  States,  they 
would  be  deprived  of  any  representation  in  Congress, 
and  they  finally  ratified  it  and  the  amendment  was  pro 
claimed,  July  28,  1868.  The  third  clause  was  most  unfor 
tunate.  It  prevented  persons  who  had  served  in  the 
Confederate  Army  and  who  had  previously  taken  an  oath 
"to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States," 
"from  holding  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States  or  under  any  State. "  The  effect  of  this 
was  to  deprive  the  Southern  States  in  their  new  govern 
ment  of  the  services  of  the  men  who  were  best  qualified 
to  fill  the  various  offices.  It  was  provided  that  Congress 
might  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House  remove  such 


70          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

disability.  In  time  there  came  an  era  of  better  feeling, 
and  disabilities  were  removed,  but  for  years  this  restric 
tion  was  oppressive. 

In  all  the  Southern  States  except  Texas,  legislatures 
had  been  organized  during  1865  in  pursuance  of  President 
Johnson's  proclamations.  These  showed  their  distrust 
of  the  freedmen  by  limiting  in  many  ways  their  right  to 
contract,  to  inherit  and  to  bring  suits  in  courts  of  justice. 
It  was  partly  in  consequence  of  this  legislation  that  Con 
gress,  in  December,  refused  to  admit  the  seceded  States 
to  representation.  In  order  to  overrule  this  legislation, 
Congress  in  March,  1866,  passed  the  Civil  Rights  bill, 
which  declared  that  all  persons  born  within  the  United 
States  and  subject  to  its  jurisdiction  were  citizens  and 
should  have  the  same  right  to  sue,  inherit,  hold  prop 
erty,  contract  and  be  protected  in  person  and  property 
"as  is  enjoyed  by  white  citizens."  This  the  President 
vetoed,  and  on  the  ninth  of  April,  1866,  Congress  passed 
the  bill  over  his  veto.  Here  Congress  was  right.  But  in 
its  next  step  in  the  controversy  with  the  President,  Con 
gress  was  wrong. 

The  bitterness  which  was  felt  in  the  Republican  party 
at  what  its  leaders  considered  the  defection  of  Johnson,  led, 
on  the  second  of  March,  1867,  to  the  passage  over  his  veto 
of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act,  which  attempted  to  deprive 
him  of  his  power  to  remove  Cabinet  officials  without  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  This  was  particularly 
intended  to  secure  Mr.  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
in  his  office,  and  as  far  as  possible,  to  deprive  the  Presi 
dent  of  his  power  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army. 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871     71 

Johnson  took  the  ground  that  this  Tenure  of  Office  Act 
was  unconstitutional,  and  on  the  twenty-first  of  February, 
1868,  signed  a  document  removing  Edwin  M.  Stan  ton  and 
appointing  Lorenzo  Thomas,  of  Delaware,  as  Secretary  of 
War  ad  interim.  Stanton  refused  to  observe  the  order 
of  removal,  and  treated  it  as  a  nullity.  For  this  violation 
of  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  and  other  alleged  offenses, 
the  House  of  Representatives,  only  three  days  after 
the  attempted  removal  of  Stanton,  voted  to  impeach  Mr. 
Johnson.  This  impeachment  came  on  to  be  tried  before 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  fifth  of  March, 
1868,  and  continued  on  trial  until  the  twenty-sixth  of  May. 
Chief  Justice  Chase  presided.  The  House  of  Represen 
tatives  sent  as  managers  of  the  impeachment  Benjamin 
F.  Butler  and  George  S.  Boutwell  of  Massachusetts, 
Thaddeus  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania,  and  other  active 
Republican  members  of  the  House.  Mr.  Johnson  was 
defended  by  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  Massachusetts, 
William  M.  Evarts  of  New  York,  William  S.  Groesbeck  of 
Ohio,  and  the  President's  old  friend,  Thomas  A.  R. 
Nelson,  of  Tennessee. 

The  Chief  Justice  was  six  feet  three  inches  in  height  with 
fine  features  and  a  commanding  presence,  and  he  presided 
with  great  dignity.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  par 
tisanship  of  the  prosecutors,  or  the  acrimony  with  which 
they  presented  their  case,  the  conduct  of  the  Court  befitted 
the  importance  of  the  trial.  Perhaps  not  since  the  trial 
of  Warren  Hastings  had  there  been  so  momentous  an 
impeachment. 

General  Grant,  who  was  the  General  of  the  army  at  that 


72         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

time,  was  one  of  the  witnesses  and  was  cross  examined  by 
Mr.  Evarts  in  a  way  that  was  justified  by  the  case,  but 
which  gave  offense  to  the  General.  When  Grant  after 
wards  became  President,  it  was  understood  (perhaps 
unjustly)  that  the  recollection  of  this  cross-examination 
was  the  principal  reason  that  prevented  him  from  appoint 
ing  Mr.  Evarts  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Chief  Justice 
Chase.  One  of  Evarts'  keenest  epigrams  was  uttered  on 
that  occasion  and  got  into  the  newspapers  of  the  day. 
A  reporter  went  to  him  and  asked  him  his  opinion  of  the 
nomination  that  was  actually  made.  He  replied,  "If 
the  prizes  of  the  profession  are  to  be  given  to  second-rate 
men,  one  hardly  knows  how  to  strive  for  them. " 

Judge  Curtis  had  been  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  had  rendered  an  able  dissenting 
opinion  in  the  Dred  Scott  case.  He  was  compelled  to 
retire  by  the  parsimony  of  the  Government  which  refused 
the  justices  a  suitable  salary.  It  was  he  who  opened  the 
case  for  the  President.  In  power  of  statement,  Curtis 
had  no  superior.  His  statement  of  a  case  was  more 
convincing  than  any  other  lawyer's  argument. 

Certainly  this  was  true  of  his  opening  for  the  defense. 
Nelson's  argument  for  the  President  was  full  of  personal 
friendship.  Evarts'  summing  up  was  that  of  a  great 
Constitutional  lawyer.  He  pointed  out  in  the  clearest 
terms  and  with  masterly  argument  that  Mr.  Johnson's 
refusal  to  obey  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act  was  not  a  high 
crime  or  misdemeanor;  that  it  was  an  act  in  good  faith 
designed  solely  to  test  the  validity  of  that  act,  and  that 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871   73 

had  the  managers  of  the  impeachment  been  so  minded, 
they  could  have  tested  its  validity  by  proceeding  in  the 
ordinary  courts  of  justice.  He  argued  also  that  the  Act 
itself  was  plainly  unconstitutional ;  that  the  Constitution, 
while  it  limited  the  power  of  appointment,  placed  no  limit 
upon  the  power  of  removal,  and  that  Congress  had  no 
power  to  limit  by  statute  the  Constitutional  prerogatives 
of  the  President. 

By  this  time  the  Democratic  party  had  espoused  the 
cause  of  Mr.  Johnson,  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  all 
the  Democrats  in  the  Senate  would  vote  for  his  acquittal. 
The  leaders  of  the  Republican  party  had  attacked  him 
with  the  utmost  acrimony,  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that 
the  majority  of  the  Republican  Senators  would  vote  for 
his  conviction.  The  effect  of  conviction  would  have  been 
to  make  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  of  Ohio,  President  in  John 
son's  place.  He  was  then  the  acting  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States  not  by  election  of  the  people,  but  by  the 
vote  of  the  Senate.  Mr.  Evarts  referred  to  this  in 
the  early  part  of  his  argument. r 

If  you  shall  acquit  the  President  of  the  United  States  from 
this  accusation  all  things  will  be  as  they  were  before.  The 
House  of  Representatives  will  retire  to  discharge  their  usual 
duties  in  legislation,  and  you  will  remain  to  act  with  them  in 
those  duties  and  to  divide  with  the  President  of  the  United 
States  the  other  associated  duties  of  an  executive  character 
which  the  Constitution  attributes  to  you.  The  President 
of  the  United  States,  too,  dismissed  from  your  presence 
uncondemned,  will  occupy  through  the  constitutional  term  his 
place  of  authority,  and  however  ill  the  course  of  politics  may 

1  Impeachment  Proceedings,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  270-271. 


74         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

go,  or  however  well,  the  Government  and  its  Constitution  will 
have  received  no  shock.  But  if  the  President  shall  be  con 
demned,  and  if  by  authority  under  the  Constitution  necessarily 
to  be  exerted  upon  such  condemnation,  he  shall  be  removed 
from  office,  there  will  be  no  President  of  the  United  States;  for 
that  name  and  title  is  accorded  by  the  Constitution  to  no  man 
who  has  not  received  the  suffrages  of  the  people  for  the  primary 
or  the  alternative  elevation  to  that  place.  A  new  thing  will 
have  occurred  to  us;  the  duties  of  the  office  will  have  been 
annexed  to  some  other  office,  will  be  discharged  virtute  officii 
and  by  the  tenure  which  belongs  to  the  first  office.  Under 
the  legislation  of  the  country  early  adopted,  and  a  great  puzzle 
to  the  Congress,  that  designation  belongs  to  this  Senate  itself 
to  determine,  by  an  officer  of  its  own  naming,  the  right  under 
the  legislation  of  1 792  to  add  to  his  office  conferred  by  the  Sen 
ate  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  the^two  offices  running  along  together.  Whatever  there 
may  be  of  novelty,  whatever  of  disturbance,  in  the  course  of 
public  affairs  thus  to  arise  from  a  novel  situation,  is  involved 
in  the  termination  of  this  cause ;  and  therefore  there  is  directly 
proposed  to  you,  as  a  necessary  result  from  one  determination 
of  this  cause,  this  novelty  in  our  Constitution ;  a  great  nation 
whose  whole  frame  of  government,  whose  whole  scheme  and 
theory  of  politics  rest  upon  the  suffrage  of  the  people,  will  be 
without  a  President,  and  the  office  sequestered  will  be  dis 
charged  by  a  member  of  the  body  whose  judgment  has 
sequestered  it. 

There  were  seven  Republican  Senators  who  rose  above 
the  ties  of  party  and  voted  in  accordance  with  their 
conscientious  conviction  as  judges  and  not  as  partisans. 
One  of  these  was  William  Pitt  Fessenden,  of  Maine,  who 
had  been  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Cabinet  and  who  was  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  and  most 
courageous  men  that  New  England  ever  sent  to  the  Sen 
ate.  His  clean-cut  Roman  profile  is  shown  in  his  likeness 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871    75 

on  the  early  Treasury  notes,  and  was  indicative  of  his 
character.  When  we  consider  who  were  members  of  the 
Senate  when  he  was  in  that  body,  it  might  be  justly  said 
of  him : 

"This  was  the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all." 

He  voted  to  acquit.  So  did  Senators  Henderson  of 
Missouri,  Trumbull,  of  Illinois  and  Grimes  of  Iowa.  They 
had  been  loyal  Republicans  from  the  first,  but  could  not 
go  with  their  party  in  this  attempt  to  remove  by  impeach 
ment  the  President  with  whom  they  did  not  agree.  They 
were  prominent  men.  They  had  the  support  of  a  large 
body  of  friends.  Their  conduct  was  bitterly  assailed 
by  the  partisan  majority  in  the  Senate,  yet  they  had  the 
support  of  many  in  their  own  States.  Another  Republi 
can  Senator  who  refused  to  vote  with  his  party,  Edmund 
G.  Ross  of  Kansas,  is  possibly  entitled  to  even  more  credit 
than  they.  He  was  not  a  man  of  marked  ability,  but  he 
had  what  in  times  of  storm  and  stress  is  worth  perhaps 
more  than  great  intellectual  power,  absolute  devotion  to 
duty.  He  was  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the  counsel 
for  the  defense  that  Andrew  Johnson  had  not  been  guilty 
of  any  high  crime  or  misdemeanor  and  accordingly  he 
voted  to  acquit.  His  vote  turned  the  scale.  There  were 
thirty-five  Senators  (May  16,  1868)  who  answered 
"Guilty."  Nineteen  answered  "Not  Guilty."  A  two- 
thirds  vote  was  necessary  to  convict.  Had  Ross  voted 
the  other  way  the  necessary  two-thirds  majority  would 
have  been  obtained.  With  his  vote  to  acquit,  it  failed 
and  the  court  of  impeachment  ten  days  later  adjourned 
sine  die.  Ross'  vote  was  received  with  a  storm  of 


76         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

vituperation  not  equaled  afterwards  in  American  politics 
until  1912.  He  was  denounced  as  a  traitor  and  renegade. 
The  sentiment  of  his  State  was  against  him  unanimously. 
Kansas  was  the  child  of  strife.  From  the  time  of  its 
admission  to  the  Union  up  to  that  of  the  impeachment  of 
Andrew  Johnson,  adherence  to  the  Republican  organi 
zation  had  been  in  that  State  the  one  condition  upon 
which  any  man  could  receive  consideration.  Accordingly 
Senator  Ross  was  ostracized.  He  found  it  exceedingly 
difficult  after  his  retirement  from  the  Senate  to  earn  a 
living  and  finally  died,  if  not  in  poverty,  yet  in  very  humble 
circumstances,  deprived  of  the  honor  which  was  justly 
due  to  a  man  who  had  been  loyal  to  his  convictions  when 
subjected  to  strong  temptation.  Such  was  the  reward 
which  an  American  Commonwealth  paid  to  a  man  who 
deserved  to  be  honored  as  Cato  was  by  the  Romans.  No 
act  of  any  American  statesman  cost  the  man  that  did  it 
more,  and  was  more  absolutely  the  result  of  conscientious 
conviction  than  Senator  Ross'  vote  on  the  impeachment 
of  Andrew  Johnson. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  the  trial  that  Mr.  Boutwell  in  a 
flight  of  turgid  rhetoric  declared  that  there  was  a  place  in 
the  sky  in  which  no  star  had  ever  been  discerned  by  the 
most  powerful  telescope,  and  that  this  abode  of  blackness 
was  the  only  place  to  which  Andrew  Johnson  could  fitly 
be  consigned.  One  of  the  cleverest  passages  in  all  the 
oratory  of  the  trial  was  Mr.  Evarts'  reply1: 

I  may,  as  conveniently  at  this  point  of  the  argument  as  at 
any  other,  pay  some  attention  to  the  astronomical  punishment 

1  Impeachment  Proceedings,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  297-298. 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871    77 

which  the  learned  and  honorable  manager,  Mr.  Bout  well, 
thinks  should  be  applied  to  this  novel  case  of  impeachment 
of  the  President.  Cicero  I  think  it  is  who  says  that  a  lawyer 
should  know  everything,  for  sooner  or  later  there  is  no  fact  in 
history,  in  science,  or  of  human  knowledge  that  will  not  come 
into  play  in  his  arguments.  Painfully  sensible  of  my  ignor 
ance,  being  devoted  to  a  profession  "which  sharpens  and  does 
not  enlarge  the  mind,"  I  yet  can  admire  without  envy  the  su 
perior  knowledge  evinced  by  the  honorable  manager.  Indeed, 
upon  my  soul,  I  believe  he  is  aware  of  an  astronomical  fact 
which  many  professors  of  that  science  are  wholly  ignorant 
of.  But  nevertheless,  while  some  of  his  honorable  colleagues 
were  paying  attention  to  an  unoccupied  and  unappropriated 
island  on  the  surface  of  the  seas,  Mr.  Manager  Boutwell,  more 
ambitious,  had  discovered  an  untenanted  and  unappropriated 
region  in  the  skies,  reserved,  he  would  have  us  think,  in  the  final 
councils  of  the  Almighty,  as  the  place  of  punishment  for  con 
victed  and  deposed  American  Presidents. 

At  first  I  thought  that  his  mind  had  become  so  "enlarged" 
that  it  was  not  "sharp"  enough  to  discover  the  Constitution 
had  limited  the  punishment ;  but  on  reflection  I  saw  that  he  was 
as  legal  and  logical  as  he  was  ambitious  and  astronomical, 
for  the  Constitution  has  said  "removal  from  office,"  and  has 
put  no  limit  to  the  distance  of  the  removal,  so  that  it  may 
be,  without  shedding  a  drop  of  his  blood,  or  taking  a  penny 
of  his  property,  or  confining  his  limbs,  instant  removal  from 
office  and  transportation  to  the  skies.  Truly  this  is  a  great 
undertaking;  and  if  the  learned  manager  can  only  get  over 
the  obstacles  of  the  laws  of  nature,  the  Constitution  will  not 
stand  in  his  way.  He  can  contrive  no  method  but  that  of  a 
convulsion  of  the  earth  that  shall  project  the  deposed  Presi 
dent  to  this  infinitely  distant  space ;  but  a  shock  of  nature  of  so 
vast  an  energy  and  for  so  great  a  result  on  him  might  unsettle 
even  the  footing  of  the  firm  members  of  Congress.  We  cer 
tainly  need  not  resort  to  so  perilous  a  method  as  that.  How 
shall  we  accomplish  it  ?  Why,  in  the  first  place,  nobody  knows 
where  that  space  is  but  the  learned  manager  himself,  and  he 
is  the  necessary  deputy  to  execute  the  judgment  of  the  court. 


78         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Let  it  then  be  provided  that  in  case  of  your  sentence  of 
deposition  and  removal  from  office,  the  honorable  and  astro 
nomical  manager  shall  take  into  his  own  hands  the  execu 
tion  of  the  sentence.  With  the  President  made  fast  to  his 
broad  and  strong  shoulders,  and,  having  already  essayed  the 
flight  by  imagination,  better  prepared  than  anybody  else  to 
execute  it  in  form,  taking  the  advantage  of  ladders  as  far  as 
ladders  will  go  to  the  top  of  this  great  Capitol,  and  spurning 
then  with  his  foot  the  crest  of  Liberty,  let  him  set  out  upon  his 
flight,  while  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  and  all_the  people  of 
the  United  States  shall  shout,  "Sic  itur  ad  astro,." 

But  here  a  distressing  doubt  strikes  me ;  how  will  the  mana 
ger  get  back  ?  He  will  have  got  far  beyond  the  reach  of  gravi 
tation  to  restore  him,  and  so  ambitious  a  wing  as  his  could 
never  stoop  to  a  downward  flight.  Indeed,  as  he  passes 
through  the  constellations,  that  famous  question  of  Carlyle, 
by  which  he  derides  the  littleness  of  human  affairs  upon  the 
scale  of  the  measure  of  the  heavens,  "What  thinks  Bootes  as 
he  drives  his  dogs  up  the  zenith  in  their  race  of  sidereal  fire?" 
will  force  itself  on  his  notice.  What,  indeed,  would  Bootes 
think  of  this  new  constellation? 

Besides  reaching  this  space,  beyond  the  power  of  Congress 
even,  "to  send  for  persons  and  papers,"  how  shall  he  return, 
and  how  decide  in  the  contest,  there  become  personal  and 
perpetual,  the  struggle  of  strength  between  him  and  the  Presi 
dent?  In  this  new  revolution,  thus  established  forever,  who 
shall  decide  which  is  the  sun  and  which  is  the  moon  ?  Who 
determine  the  only  scientific  test  which  reflects  the  hardest 
upon  the  other? 

Fortunately  for  the  country  this  attempt  to  remove  by 
impeachment  a  President  opposed  to  the  majority  in 
Congress  failed.  But  the  Presidential  policy  of  Andrew 
Johnson  had  not  met  with  the  support  of  the  people  of  the 
North.  This  was  partly  owing  to  his  infirmities  of  temper 
and  inadequate  equipment  for  the  great  office  which  he  had 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871  79 

filled  so  unexpectedly.  It  must  in  justice  be  said  that  he 
had  one  scruple  which  most  of  his  successors  have  not  felt. 
He  uniformly,  though  a  poor  man,  refused  any  present 
offered  him  during  his  Presidency. 

Neither  party  proposed  Mr.  Johnson  for  reelection. 
The  Democrats  nominated  Horatio  Seymour;  the  Republi 
cans,  General  Grant.  The  election  of  General  Grant  was  a 
foregone  conclusion  from  the  first.  He  was  inaugurated 
March  4,  1869.  He  did  not  in  civil  life  develop  the  great 
qualities  of  administration  and  did  not  exhibit  the  skill 
in  selecting  subordinates,  which  he  had  shown  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief.  His  noble  quality  of  fidelity  to  his 
friends  became  a  snare,  for  he  stood  by  them  and  shielded 
them  even  when  they  were  detected  in  mal-administration. 

The  enforcement  of  the  reconstruction  laws  by  military 
power  during  Jiis  first  term  became  obnoxious  to  the 
people  of  the  North.  Scandals  in  some  of  the  Southern 
legislatures  brought  disgrace  upon  the  reconstruction 
system  which  in  States  like  South  Carolina  and  Alabama, 
where  the  blacks  were  in  the  majority,  had  put  the  power 
in  their  hands.  Mr.  Godkin,  the  celebrated  editor  of  the 
Nation  and  the  Evening  Post,  told  me  this  story  of  the 
way  in  which  business  was  done  at  the  capital  of  South 
Carolina.  He  went  to  Columbia  during  the  era  of  Recon 
struction  to  represent  one  of  the  New  York  City  papers. 
The  majority  of  the  Legislature  were  negroes.  There 
were  many  applications  by  Northern  men,  who  came  to 
be  known  as  carpet-baggers,  for  franchises  for  railroads 
and  other  enterprises  of  quasi-public  character.  When 
a  bill  for  such  a  purpose  was  introduced  it  would  go  to  a 


8o         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

committee.  It  was  customary  for  the  promoter  of  the 
enterprise  to  interview  the  leader  of  the  colored  majority, 
who  was  himself  a  colored  man,  and  pretended  to  be  much 
interested  in  the  colored  churches.  He  would  hear  the 
story  of  the  promoter  patiently  and  would  reply: 

I  see  the  merit  of  your  enterprise  and  shall  be  glad  to  use  my 
influence  in  the  Legislature  in  its  support,  but  unfortunately, 
I  have  promised  to  go  to  a  colored  church  in  Beaufort 
County  (it  might  be  any  other),  to  help  them  lift  their  mort 
gage.  The  holder  is  pressing  for  payment  and  it  is  necessary 
that  the  money  should  be  raised. 

The  promoter  would  then  reply  "Your  services  in 
Columbia  are  more  important  to  the  State  than  anything 
you  could  do  for  that  church.  Pray  tell  me  how  much  is 
that  mortgage."  The  amount  of  the  mortgage  always 
varied  according  to  the  value  of  the  franchise,  upon  a  cer 
tain  loose  scale  that  the  leader  had  established  in  his  own 
mind.  Whatever  it  was,  the  promoter  paid  it  and  the 
bill  went  through. 

This  is  a  sample  of  the  misgovernment  of  the  colored 
legislatures  during  the  reconstruction  period.  The  South 
erners  who  had  survived  the  war,  and  been  impoverished 
by  it,  smarted  under  the  burden  of  wasteful  and  excessive 
taxation. x 

Whatever  we  may  think  theoretically  of  the  equality 
of  the  negro  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  the  racial  spirit  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  was  too  strong  to  tolerate  long  the  elevation 

1  A  detailed  account  of  the  fraudulent  bonds  imposed  on  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  is  given  in  the  speech  of  John  M.  Faison  of  that  State. 
— Congressional  Record,  Aug.  24,  1912,  pp.  12,  975. 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871    81 

of  the  negro  into  authority  and  control  over  the  conquered 
whites.  This  had  been  the  result  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  which  was  proclaimed  as  part  of 
the  Constitution,  March  30,  1870. 

1.  The  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by 
any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  the  provisions 
of  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

This  amendment  was  rejected  by  California,  Delaware, 
Kentucky,  Maryland,  New  Jersey,  and  Oregon.  It  was 
ratified  by  the  remaining  thirty  states.  A  change  of 
politics  in  New  York  gave  that  state  a  Democratic  Legis 
lature  and  its  ratification  was  rescinded  January  5,  1870. 
Nevertheless,  President  Grant  issued  his  proclamation 
declaring  the  amendment  adopted.  This  was  on  the 
thirtieth  of  March,  1870,  and  from  that  time  until  1877, 
most  of  the  states  which  had  seceded,  and  notably  South 
Carolina,  Alabama,  Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  were 
practically  governed  by  the  negroes  and  by  the  carpet 
baggers. 

The  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Amendments  were 
the  logical  results  of  the  war.  The  first  prohibited  slavery. 
The  second  reduced  the  ratio  of  representation  whenever 
the  negroes  were  denied  the  right  of  suffrage. 

This  was  a  reasonable  requirement.  Blacks  not  al 
lowed  to  vote  should  not  entitle  their  white  neighbors 
to  increased  representation.  Had  we  stopped  there  the 
Southern  States  would  gradually  have  admitted  the  blacks 

6 


82          SIXTY  YEARSJ3F  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  suffrage.  But  Thaddeus  Stevens,  Butler,  and  other 
unprincipled  partisans  wanted  Southern  electoral  votes 
for  the  Republican  party.  They  pushed  through  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  and  for  a  time  enforced  it  by 
Federal  troops.  This  military  Government  was  opposed 
to  the  traditions  of  the  American  people  and  its  fall  sooner 
or  later  was  inevitable.  That  fall  came  in  1876,  as  will  be 
told  hereafter. 

Before  the  legal  changes  which  followed  the  election 
of  1876  the  Southern  people  had  made  in  many  localities 
organized  attempts  to  intimidate  the  blacks  and  keep 
them  from  voting.  This  was  done  by  means  of  societies 
called  the  Ku  Klux  Klan.  They  were  an  unfortunate 
result  of  the  misgovernment  under  which  the  whites  were 
suffering.  Thomas  Nelson  Page  in  Red  Rock  gives  the 
Southern  side  of  the  story;  Judge  Tourgee,  in  his  Fool's 
Errand,  the  Northern  side.  I  had  an  aunt,  whose  husband, 
Rev.  J.  de  Forest  Richards,  was  a  professor  in  the  Univer 
sity  of  Alabama.  He  had  been  an  abolitionist,  was  an 
ardent  advocate  of  negro  suffrage,  and  went  South  after 
the  war.  He  was  naturally  unpopular  among  his  white 
neighbors.  In  the  days  of  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,  it  was 
only  by  the  dauntless  courage  of  himself,  his  wife,  his  sons 
and  his  daughter,  all  bearing  arms  and  keeping  their 
house  in  a  state  of  defense,  that  they  escaped  personal 
violence.  The  outhouses  adjoining  their  house  were 
fired.  But  they  protected  the  roof  of  the  main  building 
with  wet  blankets  and  organized  the  negroes  into  a  bucket 
brigade.  On  another  occasion  an  enemy  shaved  the  mane 
and  tail  of  my  aunt's  saddle-horse.  But,  pistols  in  holster, 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871    83 

she  rode  into  town  and  made  her  purchases  the  next 
day,  an  hour  earlier  than  usual. 

Captain  Dawson,  who  was  the  editor  of  the  Charleston 
Daily  News,  and  was  a  power  for  good  in  the  South,  until 
he  was  cut  off  by  a  cowardly  assassin,  urged  the  people  to 
endeavor  to  correct  the  evils  of  the  Government  from  which 
they  suffered,  by  laws  regulating  the  suffrage.  He  said 
to  his  fellow  citizens  that  if  they  began  by  cheating  the 
blacks,  they  would  end  by  cheating  each  other.  Alas, 
his  advice  was  not  followed.  The  invention  of  the  tissue- 
paper  ballot,  which  enabled  a  man  to  fold  up  a  dozen 
ballots  and  insert  them  in  the  box  as  one,  afterwards  to 
be  counted  by  a  friendly  inspector,  provided  the  people 
of  the  South  what  was  considered  a  necessary  weapon. 
It  was  a  dangerous  one.  The  days  were  evil.  Both  sides 
were  wrong.  The  situation  was  impossible  of  continuance. 

During  the  turmoil  that  has  been  described,  and  despite 
the  general  disposition  of  the  Republican  majority  to  keep 
the  Southern  States  in  subjection,  there  was  still  some 
attempt  to  make  reimbursement  for  Southern  losses.  An 
Act  of  Congress  created  a  court  called  the  Southern  Claims 
Commission  to  hear  Southern  claimants,  and  to  pass  upon 
the  validity  of  their  claims.  But  no  provision  was  made 
to  enable  the  claimant  to  obtain  testimony  by  subpoena. 
If  a  claimant  could  induce  witnesses  to  attend,  the  Court 
examined  them  under  oath,  and  heard  what  they  had 
to  say,  but  reluctant  witnesses  were  not  obliged  to  come. 
I  had  a  curious  experience  in  this  line,  which  throws 
light  upon  the  conditions  of  the  time.  The  case  was  not 
peculiar. 


84         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  my  client,  Mrs.  Whitney, 
lived  in  Mississippi.  Her  husband  had  been  a  graduate 
of  West  Point.  He  was  an  invalid  and  unfit  for  military 
service.  He  lived  on  his  plantation  for  about  fifteen 
months  after  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter  and  then  died. 
His  widow  remained  in  possession,  and  carried  on  the 
plantation.  The  husband  had  always  maintained  his 
loyalty  to  the  Union,  although  neither  he  nor  his  wife 
had  any  opportunity  of  showing  it  until  the  Vicksburg 
campaign  in  the  summer  of  1863.  Then  Sherman,  at 
the  head  of  his  corps,  marched  into  that  part  of  Mississippi 
where  the  Whitney  plantation  was  situated.  The  widow 
met  him  on  the  steps  and  under  the  great  columns  in  front 
of  her  house  received  him  and  his  officers  hospitably. 
There  were  stores  of  corn  in  the  cribs,  and  of  ham  and 
pork  in  the  smoke-house  and  store-house.  All  this  the 
army  needed  and  the  army  took.  There  was  cotton  on 
hand,  which  also  was  seized  and  sent  North.  She  re 
mained  on  the  plantation,  retained  her  friendly  relations 
with  the  Federal  troops,  and  when  the  war  was  over  came 
to  Washington  and  presented  her  claim  to  the  Southern 
Claims  Commission  for  reimbursement  for  the  cotton,  the 
corn  and  the  pork,  which  the  troops  had  taken,  and  used. 

Under  the  law,  only  claimants  who  had  remained 
loyal  to  the  government  during  the  war  were  entitled  to 
compensation.  This  was  the  essential  point  to  establish. 
When  I  was  retained  in  the  case  I  made  inquiry  in  regard 
to  the  constitution  of  the  Court.  I  found  that  Judge 
Ferris  of  New  York,  who  was  one  of  its  members  had 
been  an  ardent  Republican,  before  and  during  the  war, 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871  85 

and  that  it  was  generally  conceded  that  no  Southern 
white  would  receive  any  consideration  at  his  hands.  I 
found,  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  was  a  member  of  the 
Court  from  Kentucky,  who  was  considered  favorable  to 
the  Southern  whites.  The  third  member  of  the  Court 
was  Judge  Aldis,  of  Vermont.  He  had  been  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State  and  was  a  good  lawyer. 
I  knew  him  and  his  family  personally.  I  had  hopes  that  I 
might  convince  him  that  my  client  had  been  a  loyal 
woman. 

I  went  to  General  Sherman,  who  was  then  Commander- 
in- Chief  of  the  army.  He  remembered  the  occurrence 
and  the  cordiality  with  which  he  had  been  received  when 
he  approached  Mrs.  Whitney's  plantation,  and  said  that 
he  was  willing  to  testify  before  the  Commission,  but  that 
as  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Government,  he  did 
not  think  he  ought  to  attend  unless  he  received  some  for 
mal  requirement  so  to  do.  Then  I  bethought  me  of  the  prac 
tice  which  prevails  in  New  York  of  issuing  a  summons  to 
witnesses  to  attend  before  a  referee.  This  summons  is 
signed  by  the  attorneys  in  the  case  and  has  a  certain 
legal  value.  So  I  prepared  such  a  summons,  which  I 
subscribed  as  attorney  for  the  claimant,  and  delivered 
it  to  General  Sherman.  He  thereupon  attended  (March, 
1879),  and  told  the  story  as  I  have  told  it.  He  said  that 
Mrs.  Whitney  had  been  of  great  service  to  the  army  when 
he  was  passing  through  that  part  of  Mississippi,  and  that 
she  had  impressed  him  as  a  loyal  woman. 

General  Slocum  was  placed  by  Sherman  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Mississippi,  when  Sherman  started 


86         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

on  his  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea.  I  called  on  General 
Slocum.  He  remembered  Mrs.  Whitney  well,  and  went  to 
Washington  and  appeared  before  the  Commission.  He 
testified  that  Mrs.  Whitney  had  continued  to  be  of  service 
while  he  was  in  command  of  the  department,  and  that 
on  one  occasion  she  had  sent  him  word  of  a  threatened 
night  attack  which  had  enabled  him  to  be  on  his  guard 
and  to  repulse  the  Confederate  assault.  It  did  seem  to  me 
that  with  this  testimony  from  the  Commander-in-Chief 
and  from  a  Major-General,  both  of  whom  had  served 
with  distinction  during  the  war,  my  case  was  secure. 
But  the  Government  sent  a  commissioner  to  the  South. 
He  summoned  before  him  numerous  witnesses.  He  was 
of  course  able  to  show  that  before  Northern  armies  arrived 
in  that  part  of  the  country  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitney  had 
not  rendered  any  service  to  the  Union  cause.  They 
had  not  taken  up  arms,  for  that  would  have  been  impossi 
ble,  even  had  they  been  so  minded.  The  greatest  crime 
that  this  commissioner  was  able  to  establish  against  Mrs. 
Whitney  was  that  she  had  actually  made  some  under 
clothing  for  the  Confederate  sick  in  hospital. 

Such  was  the  testimony  that  was  brought  back  from  the 
South.  I  had  become  much  interested  in  the  case  of  this 
unfortunate  widow,  and  my  sympathies  were  enlisted  in 
her  behalf.  I  spared  no  pains  to  convince  the  Court 
that  the  testimony  of  her  loyalty  was  overwhelming. 
I  used  historic  illustrations  of  men  who  were  loyal  to  a 
cause,  but  had  been  prevented  from  expressing  their 
loyalty  openly  by  overwhelming  force,  and  had  re 
mained  silent  without  impeachment.  One  particular  case 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871  87 

was  that  of  a  monk,  a  century  before  Luther,  who  had 
become  possessed  of  a  copy  of  the  Gospels,  had  studied 
them,  had  become  convinced,  substantially  as  Luther 
was,  of  the  evangelical  doctrine,  and  had  left  hidden  in  his 
cell  his  testimony  as  to  his  belief  in  its  truth.  But  all  my 
illustrations  and  arguments  were  ineffective  to  convince 
Judge  Aldis.  My  client  had  one  vote  in  the  Court,  but 
the  other  two  were  against  her.  Nothing  showed  more 
clearly  the  bitterness  prevailing  at  that  time  than  the  fact 
that  an  educated  lawyer,  who  had  attained  high  rank  in 
his  profession  and  a  seat  on  the  bench,  should  have  been 
so  carried  away  by  partisan  feeling  as  to  disregard  the 
testimony  of  the  General  of  the  Army  and  of  General 
Slocum,  and  suffer  it  to  be  outweighed  in  his  mind  by  the 
gossip  and  tattle  of  a  few  plantation  negroes,  and  the  hei 
nous  accusation  of  caring  for  the  enemy's  sick  and  wounded 
in  hospital.  He  could  not  see  at  all  the  intrinsic  justice  of 
the  claim.  It  was  undisputed  that  the  troops  had  taken 
Mrs.  Whitney's  property,  and  that  this  property  was  of 
great  service  to  them  in  time  of  need.  It  was  the  plain 
dictate  of  justice  that  she  should  be  paid.  But  the  great 
Government  of  the  United  States  never  paid  her  a  penny 
for  all  these  supplies  that  she  had  furnished,  and  she  died 
in  poverty.  Her  case  with  many  variations,  was  that 
of  many  thousand  men  and  women  in  the  South.1 

The  bitterness  of  the  North  which  influenced  the 
reconstruction  measures  and  which  was  partly  due  to 
the  assassination  of  Lincoln,  produced  a  corresponding 

1 A  similar  case  is  described  by  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilson  (Under  the  Old  Flag, 
p.  213)  that  of  Mrs.  Latham. 


88         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

feeling  at  the  South.  The  Southern  people  were  much 
more  ready  in  June,  1865,  to  accept  in  a  friendly  spirit  the 
results  of  the  war  than  they  were  in  the  following  year. 
This  is  shown  clearly  by  Howell  Cobb's  remarkable 
letter  which  was  obtained  by  General  Wilson,  copious 
extracts  from  which  are  printed  in  his  book,  Under  the 
Old  Flag.1  The  Republicans  ought  to  have  seen  that 
it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  North  to  bring  about  as  soon 
as  possible  a  prosperous  South,  and  to  aid  the  Southern 
people  to  get  on  their  feet  again.  This  is  what  the  British 
did  to  the  Boers  after  the  Boer  war.  The  British  Govern 
ment  advanced  money  to  planters  whose  property  had  been 
destroyed  during  that  war.  These  loans  enabled  them  to 
purchase  stock  and  to  begin  at  once  to  raise  crops. 

As  I  write  (1916),  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  the 
bitterness  on  both  sides  has  passed  away.  The  cele 
bration  at  Manassas,  Virginia,  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  (July  21,  1911),  and  at 
Gettysburg  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that  battle 
(July  3,  1913),  show  this  clearly.  Veterans  of  both  armies 
fraternized  and  pledged  eternal  friendship. 

Another  error  that  was  made  in  the  process  of  recon 
struction  was  in  the  method  of  educating  the  negroes. 
The  first  thought  in  the  mind  of  the  teachers  from  the 
North  was  of  a  training  purely  scholastic.  The  idea  of 
manual  training  had  not  then  occurred  to  most  educators. 
The  first  schools  that  were  established  for  the  freedmen 
made  little  attempt  at  this.  The  great  work  of  Hampton, 
Tuskegee,  St.  Paul's,  and  similar  institutions,  which  have 

1  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  359-363- 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871   89 

done  so  much  for  the  prosperity  and  unity  of  the  South, 
had  not  been  begun.  It  is  to  the  immortal  honor  of 
Gen.  Samuel  C.  Armstrong  that  he  should  have  seen 
the  necessity  of  such  training  as  early  as  1868  and  have 
established  the  school  at  Hampton  where  colored  men 
and  women  should  be  taught,  not  only  reading  and  writ 
ing,  but  the  mechanic  arts  which  were  adapted  to  their 
situation,  and  which  would  enable  them  to  earn  a  living 
and  become  useful  in  their  neighborhood.  Farmers,  skilled 
mechanics,  good  housewives,  have  all  been  graduated  from 
Hampton.1  It  was  a  graduate  of  Hampton,  Booker 
T.  Washington,  who  founded  Tuskegee,  and  another,  Rev. 
James  S.  Russell,  who  founded  St.  Paul's,  Virginia. 
Already  the  example  of  these  institutions  has  been  fol 
lowed  in  many  cases.  But  unfortunately  during  the  ten 
years  after  the  end  of  the  war,  there  was  little  such  teach 
ing  in  the  South.  In  the  old  plantations  the  slaves  had 
received  instruction  from  their  masters  and  mistresses. 
This  of  course  had  ceased  entirely.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  many  of  the  blacks  made  bad  use  of  their  newly  ac 
quired  freedom  and  that  racial  differences  should  have 
thereby  been  greatly  aggravated.  It  is  a  story  of  which 
this  country  has  no  reason  to  be  proud. 

The  chapter  would  be  incomplete  without  some  refer- 
^ence  to  the  conditions  of  business  at  the  North  during  the 
period  of  reconstruction.  An  era  of  speculation  set  in. 
We  had  not  yet  restored  specie  payments  and  the  currency 
was  one  of  the  subjects  of  speculation.  The  price  of  gold 

1  In  1911  it  had  on  its  rolls  1399  students.  There  are  1612  graduates 
and  over  6,000  ex-students. 


90         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

went  up  and  down,  partly  according  to  the  judgment  of 
financiers  as  to  the  date  of  the  resumption  of  specie  pay 
ments,  partly  as  their  confidence  varied  in  the  purpose  of 
the  American  people  to  make  good  the  obligations  that 
had  been  incurred  during  the  war,  and  partly  at  the  beck 
of  speculators,  who  rigged  the  market  and  caused  it  to  go 
up  or  down  as  they  happened  to  be  on  the  bull  or  bear 
side.  A  party  sprang  up  who  were  called  Greenbackers. 
They  declared  that  the  legal-tender  currency,  which  was 
called  the  greenback  from  the  color  of  the  back  of  the  notes, 
had  been  good  enough  to  carry  us  through  the  war,  and 
that  it  was  good  enough  currency  for  us  to  retain.  "The 
blood-stained  greenback"  was  a  favorite  phrase  of  theirs. 

The  Supreme  Court,  after  several  arguments,  reversed 
its  first  decision  and  held  that  the  Act  of  Congress,  which 
made  the  notes  of  the  Government  payable  on  demand  a 
legal  tender,  was  valid  not  only  as  to  obligations  con 
tracted  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  but  [in  discharge  of 
obligations  contracted  before.1  Many  of  the  Govern 
ment  bonds  that  had  been  issued  during  the  war,  were 
redeemable  at  the  end  of  five  years  from  the  date  of 
issue.  The  interest  on  these  bonds  had  uniformly  been 
paid  in  gold.  But  when  the  five  years  expired  the  Green- 
backers  insisted  that  they  should  be  paid  in  paper  cur 
rency,  and  that  the  government  should  make  issue  of 
legal-tender  notes  sufficient  for  this  purpose. 

While  speculation  was  rife  on  the  stock  market,  capital 
was  demanded  for  the  building  of  railroads  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  a  population  rapidly  moving  westward. 

1  Hepburn  v.  Griswold;  8  Wall.,  603,  Knox  v.  Lee,  12  Wall.,  457. 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871   91 

It  had  been  seen  during  the  war  that  a  railroad  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  was  necessary  to  the  stability  of  the 
Union,  and  provision  had  been  made  for  the  construction 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  westward  across  the  plains 
and  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  connecting  with  this 
at  Ogden  and  extending  across  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  San  Francisco.  The  Northern 
Pacific  road  was  now  planned  to  extend  from  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Jay  Cooke  and 
Company,  who  had  financed  many  of  the  Government 
loans  during  the  war,  undertook  to  finance  the  construc 
tion  of  this  railroad.  A  liberal  land  grant  was  made  by 
Congress  to  aid  in  its  construction,  first  mortgage  bonds 
were  placed  upon  the  market,  and  the  work  was  pushed 
with  vigor.  But  in  1873  it  became  apparent  that  the 
capital  of  the  country  and  such  as  could  be  obtained 
from  Europe,  would  not  then  be  forthcoming  to  complete 
this  road.  Jay  Cooke  and  Company  failed.  Their  failure 
led  to  a  financial  panic.  This  did  not  cause  a  suspen 
sion  of  specie  payments  as  that  of  1857  had  done,  be 
cause  in  1873  no  debts  were  paid  in  specie,  either  by  the 
United  States  or  by  any  individual  bankers,  except  only  in 
those  cases  where  the  contract  had  stipulated  expressly 
for  that  method  of  payment.  But  banks  stopped  pay 
ment  in  legal  tenders,  and  there  were  many  failures.  This 
panic  of  1873  produced  widespread  distress.  The  prices 
of  agricultural  products  had  been  maintained  in  many 
cases  since  the  war,  though  the  resumption  of  cotton 
planting  and  the  exportation  of  that  staple  had  reduced 
its  price  from  a  dollar  a  pound,  which  it  had  commanded 


92         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

during  the  war,  to  seven  and  eight  cents  a  pound.  But 
the  Northern  products,  wheat,  oats,  corn,  hay  and  the 
rest,  commanded  very  nearly,  though  not  quite,  the  war 
prices.  There  was  a  gradual  shrinkage,  but  it  was  slow 
until  1873. 

In  New  York  City  and  in  many  other  centers  the  rage 
for  speculation  in  real  estate  had  become  widespread. 
Men  bought  to  sell  again,  then  mortgaged  what  they  had 
and  with  the  proceeds  bought  other  property  on  a  margin. 
Lots  on  Central  Park  and  on  Riverside  Drive  in  New 
York  City  were  run  up  to  what,  compared  with  the  prices 
before  the  war,  seemed  fabulous.  Out  of  this  market,  in 
1873,  the  bottom  dropped.  There  followed  a  harvest  of 
foreclosure  suits,  and  most  of  the  speculators  in  real  estate 
went  into  bankruptcy. 

My  own  personal  experience  had  shown  me  something 
of  all  this.  I  married  in  1866.  In  1868  there  was  offered 
to  my  father  a  country  seat  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
connected  with  which  were  greenhouses,  graperies  and  a 
farm  in  an  excellent  state  of  cultivation.  When  it  came 
to  taking  title  to  this  place  my  father  was  glad  to  have  me 
take  it,  and  I  went  there  in  1868  to  spend  my  summers. 
This  farm  yielded,  at  the  prices  which  then  ruled  for 
butter,  milk,  oats  and  hay,  $2,400  a  year.  There  were  no 
southern  market  gardens  and  no  fruit  came  to  the  North 
from  the  South  in  the  early  spring.  The  market  for  hot 
house  strawberries  therefore,  was  good,  I  received  two 
dollars  a  basket  from  Delmonico  and  could  sell  all  I  could 
raise. 

The  first  indication  of  the  coming  shrinkage  came  from 


PERIOD  OF  RECONSTRUCTION,  1865-1871  93 

the  competition  of  the  market  gardens  which  were  being 
established  in  the  South.  Strawberries  began  to  come 
to  the  New  York  markets  during  March  and  April  from 
South  Carolina,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  This 
competition  gradually  reduced  the  price  which  I  was  able 
to  get  for  mine.  If  I  could  have  had  a  duty  of  a  dollar 
a  basket  on  strawberries,  this  industry  might  have  been 
maintained  in  the  North.  But  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  prohibited  that,  and  I  found  I  could  not 
raise  strawberries  at  a  profit,  and  was  obliged  to  discon 
tinue  my  hothouses. 

The  panic  of  1873  brought  down  the  prices  of  all  agri 
cultural  products.  In  some  instances  the  market-price 
fell  fifty  per  cent.  This  panic  cut  the  income  from  real 
estate  almost  in  two.  It  was  through  these  varied  ex 
periences  as  a  farmer  and  a  real-estate  owner  that  I  came 
to  realize  the  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  my  fellow- 
citizens.  There  were  many  men  like  myself  who  had 
bought  land  at  high  prices,  expecting  to  realize  an  income 
from  it  in  various  ways,  either  by  renting  or  by  cultivating 
it,  who  had  given  mortgages  for  a  large  part  of  the  price, 
and  who  waked  up  in  1873  and  1874  to  find  that  the 
property  they  had  bought  was  not  worth  more  than  the 
mortgages,  and  that  the  income  to  be  derived  from  it  was 
not  more  than  the  interest ;  often  less.' 

The  consequent  distress  and  the  cry  for  relief  from  the 
Government  by  expanding  the  currency  were  an  import 
ant  factor  in  Northern  politics  during  all  the  period  which 
elapsed  between  the  war  and  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments.  The  South  had  not  quite  the  same  difficulties 


94          SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  contend  with,  but  everything  that  produced  stagnation 
at  the  North  was  felt  in  the  South,  by  that  necessary 
sympathy  which  exists  in  a  country  the  parts  of  which 
are  mutually  dependent. 


CHAPTER  V 

NATIONAL    POLITICS    AFTER   THE   WAR,    1872-1876 

THE  wild  speculation  that  has  been  described,  and  the 
extent  to  which  some  public  men  were  involved  in  it, 
brought  discredit  upon  the  first  administration  of  General 
Grant.  His  Secretary  of  War  was  impeached  for  mal 
administration  in  office.  He  escaped  conviction  by  resig 
nation,  which  his  old  friend,  the  President,  accepted. 

All  this  brought  the  Republican  party  into  discredit. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Democratic  party  had  not  regained 
public  confidence.  It  was  generally  believed  in  1872 
that  the  best  way  to  present  a  ticket  in  opposition  to  the 
reelection  of  General  Grant  was  a  nomination  by  the 
Liberal  Republicans  (as  the  insurgents  styled  themselves) 
endorsed  by  the  Democrats.  Carl  Schurz  was  the  most 
prominent  leader  of  these  Liberals.  But  he  had  an 
associate,  Mr.  Depew,  who  afterwards  became  a  regular 
of  the  regulars  and  sat  for  twelve  years  in  the  Senate  by 
their  election.  The  Liberals  summoned  delegates  from  all 
the  States  and  the  Convention  assembled  at  Cincinnati. 
The  men  who  organized  this  movement,  and  who  repre 
sented  the  strength  of  it,  were  for  the  nomination  of 
Charles  Francis  Adams.  He  had  served  his  country  with 
great  distinction  as  Minister  at  the  British  Court  during 

95 


96         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  Civil  War.  His  historic  name  counted  for  something, 
his  integrity  was  unquestioned  and  his  ability  recognized. 
For  every  reason  he  seemed  to  be  certain  of  nomination. 

But  there  were  baser  elements  in  the  movement.  It  was 
not  organized  anywhere.  It  was  impossible  to  determine 
by  the  ordinary  tests  of  regularity,  whether  a  delegation 
from  a  particular  State  did  or  did  not  really  represent  the 
insurgent  element  there. 

And  so  when  the  Convention  assembled  at  Cincinnati, 
many  delegations  represented  nobody  but  themselves. 
They  had  come  with  the  sinister  purpose  of  nominating 
Horace  Greeley.  He  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and 
successful  editors  of  his  time.  He  dominated  and  indeed 
created  the  Tribune,  as  Bennet  did  the  Herald  and  Ray 
mond  the  Times.  But  he  had  no  training  which  qualified 
him  for  the  Presidency,  and  his  easy  good-nature  made  him 
the  dupe  of  clever  knaves.  The  artful  men  who  pushed 
his  candidacy  were  confident  of  success,  and  believed  that 
with  Greeley  in  the  Presidential  chair,  their  sway  would  be 
complete.  Accordingly,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the  real 
insurgents,  who  had  organized  the  movement,  Horace 
Greeley  was  nominated  by  a  majority  of  votes  in  the 
convention.  The  nomination  was  endorsed  by  the  Demo 
cratic  Convention,  but  it  never  had  hearty  Democratic 
support.  Thousands  of  Democrats  felt  as  I  did  when  I 
was  asked  why  I  did  not  support  Greeley.  My  answer 
was:  "I  have  never  agreed  with  him  in  any  political 
principle.  Why  should  I  support  him  for  the  Presidency." 

His  high  tariff  views  were  particularly  obnoxious  to  the 
majority  of  the  Democrats,  and  made  it  impossible  that 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  97 

he  should  command  the  hearty  support  of  the  party.  The 
men  who  nominated  him  had  no  principles  themselves  and 
made  the  mistake  common  among  rascals  of  supposing 
that  other  people  are  equally  unprincipled.  The  cam 
paign  against  Greeley  was  most  scurrilous.  The  regular 
Republicans  were  thoroughly  alarmed.  They  employed 
the  brilliant  pencil  of  Thomas  Nast  to  caricature  Greeley. 
His  personal  oddities  were  a  ready  butt  for  the  pencil  of 
the  skilful  artist,  and  Greeley  was  held  up  to  ridicule  in  a 
manner  that  drove  him  mad.  He  became  insane  before 
the  election,  and  died  before  the  votes  were  cast  in  the 
Electoral  College.  Grant  carried  the  election  by  an  over 
whelming  majority.  I  voted  for  Greeley  at  the  last,  as 
many  other  Democrats  did,  out  of  mere  pity.  We  were 
ashamed  that  a  man  who  had  really  rendered  great  services 
to  the  country,  should  have  been  caricatured  and  held  up 
to  ridicule  as  he  had  been. 

Grant  was  reflected.  His  second  term  was  no  improve 
ment  upon  his  first.  Many  leading  politicians  of  his  party 
had  acquired  such  an  inveterate  habit  of  making  money  at 
the  public  expense  that  it  was  perhaps  impossible  for  him 
to  shake  them  off.  In  any  case,  he  did  not,  and  the 
scandals  of  the  national  administration  equalled  those  of 
the  municipal  administration  of  New  York  in  the  days  of 
Tweed.  The  troops  of  the  United  States  were  used  in 
Louisiana  forcibly  to  install  the  Republican  candidates 
and  to  organize  the  Legislature  in  the  Republican  interest. 
The  majority  of  the  Northern  people  became  convinced 
that  the  army  was  being  employed  by  the  national 
Government  to  keep  the  Republican  party  in  power 


98         SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

through  the  medium  of  State  Governments  in  the  South 
that  did  not  represent  the  intelligence  of  their  several 
States. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  majority  of  the  Northern 
people  became  disgusted  with  the  Republican  party. 
Accordingly  the  elections  of  November,  1874,  resulted  in  a 
Democratic  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  following  is  my  comment  in  the  World,  upon  the  result 
of  that  election : 


The  real  cause  of  the  defeat  of  the  Republican  party  in  the 
recent  elections  was  because  it  had  no  principles  and  had 
become  a  mere  party  of  plunder.  Other  causes  contributed, 
but  this  was  the  root  of  the  whole  matter.  When  it  began  its 
career  it  was  thoroughly  in  earnest.  Right  or  wrong  it  be 
lieved  that  the  Southern  people  were  cruel  to  the  negroes  and 
had  determined  to  make  slavery  national,  and  it  carried  the 
North.  The  result  was  a  war  in  which  the  South  was  con 
quered.  As  a  natural  consequence  equal  political  rights  were 
secured  to  the  Negro  race  by  constitutional  amendments. 
This  completed  the  work  which  the  Republican  party  began, 
and  it  has  never  undertaken  anything  else  but  to  keep  itself 
in  power.  Nothing  shows  more  clearly  the  strength  which 
even  the  tradition  of  principle  gives  to  any  body  of  men  than 
the  fact  that  the  Republican  party  has  held  together  so  long. 

It  had  a  great  opportunity  to  give  good  government  and 
prosperity  to  the  Southern  people;  but  it  put  the  worst  and 
most  ignorant  in  office  there;  it  stirred  up  distrust  and  sus 
picion  in  the  breasts  of  the  Southern  negroes;  it  wilfully 
deceived  the  North  as  to  the  temper  of  the  Southern  whites. 
Its  best  men — the  very  founders  of  the  party — would  not 
consent  to  this  and  it  threw  them  overboard ;  Seward,  Sumner, 
Trumbull,  Schurz,  all  were  sacrificed;  and  the  only  reason  for 
the  whole  shameful  course  was  to  secure  the  supremacy  of  the 
Republican  party. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  99 

And  the  question  for  us  now  is  whether  we  shall  follow  its 
example.  No  doubt  there  are  many  in  the  party  who  are 
paper-money  men;  and  perhaps  some  high-tariff  men;  and  if 
to  secure  their  support  we  continue  to  tinker  with  the  tariff 
and  the  currency  we  shall  do  just  what  the  Republicans  have 
done  for  nine  years,  and  shall  be  like  them  ingloriously  beaten. 
We  shall  have  nothing  to  live  for,  and  will  inevitably  die. 

Parties  exist,  not  for  themselves,  but  for  the  whole  country. 
That  country  is  suffering  from  a  disordered  currency  and  a 
prostrate  commerce — from  men  in  office  who  seek  only  their 
own  selfish  interests  and  from  a  tariff  that  protects  the  few  at 
the  expense  of  the  many.  To  give  order  and  health  to  the 
currency  by  establishing  it  on  a  solid  specie  basis;  to  foster 
commerce  and  give  freedom  to  trade  by  a  tariff  for  revenue — 
not  protection ;  to  allow  each  part  of  the  country  to  control  its 
local  affairs,  and  not  misgovern  it  from  the  Attorney-General's 
office  with  soldiers  instead  of  constables — in  a  word,  Hard 
Money,  Free  Trade,  Home  Rule — these  are  principles  worth 
fighting  for,  and  if  we  use  the  power  we  acquire  to  enforce 
them,  our  own  success  and  the  prosperity  of  the  country  are 
assured. 

Another  important  result  of  the  election  of  1874  was  that 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  chosen  Governor  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  great  work  that  he  had  done  in  reforming 
the  city  government  of  New  York  and  in  the  impeachment 
and  removal  of  corrupt  judges  who  had  brought  chaos 
into  our  local  courts,  is  told  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  Few 
statesmen  have  shown  the  courage  that  Tilden  did,  when 
he  entered  upon  this  campaign,  which  seemed  at  first  to  be 
hopeless.  During  the  canvass  a  shrewd  politician  who 
knew  the  State  well  said  to  me:  "You  never  can  elect 
Tilden.  He  has  made  too  many  enemies. "  But  as  Gen 
eral  Bragg  said  of  Cleveland  in  the  Convention  of  ten 
years  later,  "We  loved  him  for  the  enemies  he  had  made." 


ioo       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Tilden  was  thin,  swarthy,  with  hair  straight  as  that  of 
an  Indian.  He  would  have  been  rather  insignificant  in 
appearance  were  it  not  for  his  piercing  eyes.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  delightful  than  his  conversation. 
He  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  his  profession  not  as  an  ad 
vocate  frequenting  the  courts,  but  as  a  wise  counselor 
in  matters  of  difficulty  and  importance.  In  the  many 
embarrassing  questions  which  came  up  in  the  reorganiza 
tion  of  corporations  after  the  war,  his  advice  was  con 
sidered  most  valuable. 

When  he  became  Governor  he  showed  the  same  effi 
ciency  in  the  business  of  the  State  that  he  had  in  the 
municipal  campaign.  He  reformed  the  whole  Canal 
administration.  It  was  by  his  advice  that  the  old  Board 
of  Canal  Commissioners  was  replaced  by  a  single  officer 
charged  with  important  duties  and  held  to  a  strict  re 
sponsibility.  In  1876,  he  was  the  candidate  naturally 
selected  by  the  Democracy  for  nomination  to  the  office 
of  President.  The  Republicans  had  not  agreed  on  any  of 
their  old  leaders  and  chose  for  candidate  Mr.  Hayes,  the 
Governor  of  Ohio,  a  man  of  moderate  ability,  who  was 
free  from  the  taint  of  corruption. 

The'  Democratic  platform  was  written  by  Manton 
Marble,  who  was  the  editor  of  The  World.  At  its  founda 
tion  that  newspaper  was  planned  to  be  a  journal  of  the 
highest  character,  both  in  point  of  literary  eminence  and 
moral  standard.  Its  columns  were  free  from  those  tales 
of  atrocities  which  disfigure  with  glaring  headlines  so 
many  newspapers.  It  was  not  then  a  great  success  finan 
cially,  but  it  became  a  power  in  the  literary  and  political 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  101 

world.  The  platform  Marble  drew  dealt  with  the  tariff 
in  one  memorable  sentence — "Tariff  for  revenue  only." 
On  this  platform  we  went  into  the  campaign. 

This  declaration  did  not  express  any  general  conviction 
in  the  party.  Many  of  the  men  who  formed  the  Republi 
can  party  had  been  Democrats  and  were  low  tariff  men. 
When  the  war  was  over,  some  of  them  tried  to  bring  the 
party  back  to  a  low  tariff  policy.  Mr.  Garfield  declared 
himself  in  favor  of  protection  that  would  lead  to  free  trade, 
and  Senator  Allison,  of  Iowa,  was  one  of  the  best  friends 
of  tariff  reform  in  the  Senate.  President  Arthur  and  his 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Charles  J.  Folger,  both  recom 
mended  to  Congress  the  repeal  of  the  duties  on  raw 
material.  The  Tariff  Commission  which  was  created  in 
President  Arthur's  time  made  a  thorough  investigation  of 
the  subject  and  reported  a  bill  which  was,  on  the  whole,  an 
improvement  upon  the  existing  tariff. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Southern  Democrats  at  that 
time  were  opposed  to  the  excise  on  whisky.  In  many 
parts  of  the  South  the  manufacture  of  corn  or  rye  into 
whisky  was  as  common  as  that  of  wine  in  France  and 
Germany.  Many  of  the  stills  would  not  make  more  than 
ten  gallons  at  a  time.  Whisky  was  the  beverage  of  the 
people,  and  the  regulations  governing  distilleries  which  had 
been  devised  during  the  war,  and  which  were  applicable 
to  large  manufacturers,  were  burdensome  to  the  small 
distillers  in  the  Southern  mountains.  If  the  excise  on 
spirits  had  been  repealed,  it  would  have  been  necessary 
for  revenue  purposes  to  maintain  a  high  tariff  on  imports. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  division  between  the  parties 


102        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

"•.-•'  *  •'.""  *  '.•'•  * ,  t*  '^  •     .-  *.•>*••>•  .•,  .1* 

on  the  subject  of  the  tariff  might  be  expressed  in  platforms, 
but  was  not  maintained  in  votes. 

The  contest,  therefore,  did  not  turn  upon  the  tariff,  but 
upon  the  administration  of  the  National  Government. 
One  of  the  Republican  cries  was  the  danger  to  be  appre 
hended  from  ''The  Solid  South."  On  this  subject  I  said 
in  an  editorial  in  The  World:  "A  great  deal  is  said  about 
the  'Solid  South.'  It  has  become  solid  for  honest  and 
economical  government.  Blacks  and  whites  are  finding 
that  their  interests  are  identical."  I  then  proceeded  to 
show  that  in  States  like  Georgia,  where  carpetbag 
governments  had  been  displaced,  taxes  were  lighter  and 
wages  higher  than  in  South  Carolina,  where  the  negroes 
were  still  in  the  saddle.  Between  the  end  of  the  war  and 
1872,  when  the  Bullock  Republican  administration  in 
Georgia  came  to  an  end,  the  entire  property  belonging  to 
negroes  in  that  State  reached  the  amount  of  only  $800,000. 
In  the  four  years  under  Democratic  rule  it  had  increased 
to  $6,000,000.  In  twenty  counties  in  Georgia  in  which 
the  blacks  had  a  majority,  they  received  for  educational 
purposes  alone  more  than  the  entire  tax  they  paid  for  all 
purposes.  During  the  Republican  administration  of 
Arkansas  the  rate  of  taxation  was  six  per  cent.  In  a  year 
and  a  half  under  Democratic  auspices  it  had  been  reduced 
to  one  and  a  half  per  cent.  During  the  same  time  the 
market  price  of  Arkansas  bonds  had  risen  from  twenty- 
seven  to  seventy  cents  on  the  dollar. 

One  of  the  arguments  that  we  used  in  Tilden's  favor 
was  that  under  his  Administration  specie  payment  would 
be  restored.  The  paper  currency  had  increased  $72,881,- 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  103 

750,  during  the  ^Grant  Administration,  and  the  gold  in  the 
Treasury  had  diminished  one  half.  The  Democratic 
House  of  Representatives  had  reduced  the  expenses  of 
the  Government  fifty  millions  below  the  estimates. 
Tilden's  Administration  had  reduced  the  State  taxes  in 
New  York  from  $15,727,482  to  $8,268,196. 

Mr.  Evarts  was  one  of  the  most  effective  orators  on  the 
Republican  side.  No  one  in  this  country  was  such  a 
master  of  epigram.  He  cried,  and  the  cry  was  effective: 
''Vote  as  we  fought.  Now,  they  ask  us  to  bring  back  the 
same  people  that  we  expelled."  To  this  we  replied: 
"Did  we  fight  to  expel  the  South?  They  fought  to  get 
out.  They  wanted  to  go.  It  would  not  have  cost  us  a 
dollar  or  a  man  to  expel  them.  We  fought  to  keep  them 
in  the  Union/*  And  again:  "Mr.  Evarts'  speech  is 
embodied  secession.  A  Union  in  which  .the  North  rules 
over  subject  provinces,  inhabited  by  men  whom  it  does 
not  trust  and  refuses  to  admit  to  a  share  in  its  councils, 
is  no  union." 

To  me  one  of  the  interesting  occasions  in  the  campaign 
was  a  speech  at  Wappingers  Falls.  I  was  living  in  my 
country  house  at  New  Hamburgh  nearby,  and  was  invited 
to  address  my  neighbors.  My  nearest  neighbor  at  that 
time  was  Mr.  Francis  R.  Rives,  a  Virginian  of  the  famous 
family  of  that  name,  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Barclay,  the  British  Consul-General.  He  filled  the  posi 
tion  of  an  English  country  gentleman.  He  was  interested 
in  the  local  affairs  of  the  neighborhood,  served  frequently 
as  road  commissioner,  and  was  one  of  the  wardens  of 
Zion  Episcopal  Church.  If  under  our  system  justices  of 


104       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  peace  were  appointed,  he  certainly  would  have  been  a 
justice  of  the  peace.  He  sat  on  the  platform  and  after 
wards,  in  Presidential  elections  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  received  me  at  his  house  and  took  me  to  the  Falls 
to  make  my  quadrennial  address. 

When  the  votes  came  to  be  counted  it  appeared  not 
only  that  Mr.  Tilden  had  a  popular  plurality  of  250,935, 
and  a  clear  majority  of  157,037,  which  was  never  disputed, 
but  that  he  had  a  majority  of  the  uncontested  electoral 
votes.  His  election  was  conceded  for  a  time  by  all  except 
leaders  like  Blaine,  whose  policy  was  to  claim  everything. 

In  like  manner,  when  the  votes  were  counted,  Francis 
Tillou  Nichols,  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of 
Louisiana,  had  a  majority  in  that  State.  His  Republican 
opponent,  S.  B.  Packard,  nevertheless  claimed  the  elec 
tion. 

The  grounds  of  this  claim  soon  appeared.  During  the 
era  of  Reconstruction  there  had  been  created  in  South 
Carolina,  Louisiana  and  Florida  what  were  known  as 
"Returning  Boards.'*  These  boards  were  composed  of 
State  officials  and  had  authority  under  the  law  to  reject 
any  return  that  might  be  made  from  any  electoral  district. 
It  soon  was  claimed  that  the  election  in  these  States  had 
been  carried  for  Tilden  by  force  and  fraud,  and  it  was 
intimated  that  the  returning  boards  would  probably  so 
determine,  and  find  that  the  electoral  ticket  for  Hayes 
and  Wheeler  had  received  a  majority  of  the  legal  vote, 
although  obviously  it  had  not  received  a  majority  of  the 
actual  vote  cast  in  any  of  these  three  States.  Honest 
Northern  Republicans,  like  my  friend  Henry  J.  Scudder, 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  105 

justified  themselves  in  this.  He  had  been  a  Republican 
member  of  Congress  from  the  First  New  York  District. 
He  said:  "Under  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  the  blacks 
have  the  right  to  vote.  The  South  suppresses  this  vote  by 
force  and  we  are  justified  in  resorting  to  any  measures 
that  we  choose,  to  have  the  vote  returned  as  we  think  it 
ought  to  be." 

Excitement  in  the  North  was  intense.  On  the  one  side 
the  Republican  leaders  were  reluctant  to  give  up  the  power 
that  they  had  held  since  1861.  On  the  other  side  the 
successful  Democrats,  flushed  with  victory,  felt  no  dis 
position  to  be  cheated  out  of  the  legitimate  fruits  of  the 
hard-fought  contest. 

Then  arose  the  question,  how  the  result  was  to  be 
decided.  Some  extreme  Republican  partisans  claimed 
that  under  the  Twelfth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution 
the  President  of  the  Senate  must  determine  what  votes 
should 'and  what  should  not  be  counted.  This  article 
provides  that:  "The  President  of  the  Senate  shall  in  the 
presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted."  The  Constitution  does  not  say  by  whom  the 
votes  shall  be  counted,  and  it  was  argued  that  as  the  Vice- 
President  was  to  open  the  certificates,  it  was  he  who 
should  determine  what  certificates  were  valid.  This  con 
tention,  however,  did  not  commend  itself  to  thoughtful 
people. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Democrats  maintained  that  the 
precedent  which  had  been  adopted  to  regulate  the  count 
of  the  votes  in  1865,  in  1869  and  in  1873  should  be  followed 


io6        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

in  1877.  A  joint  rule  had  been  adopted  in  these  years  by 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  This  provided 
that  no  votes  should  be  counted  except  by  the  concurrence 
of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  was  based  upon  the 
proposition  that  the  counting  of  the  vote  of  any  State  was 
an  affirmative  act,  and  required  the  joint  action  of  both 
Houses.  This  was  inconsistent  with  the  contention  of 
the  partisans  of  the  Vice-Presidential  theory,  that  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  attended  only  as 
spectators. 

In  1876  the  Senate  was  Republican,  and  the  House  was 
Democratic.  The  majority  of  the  undisputed  votes  was 
clearly  Democratic,  and  if  the  joint  rule  had  been  en 
forced,  Tilden  would  have  been  declared  elected.  After 
the  whole  contest  was  over,  Senator  Wallace  of  Pennsyl 
vania  told  me  that  Edmunds  and  Conkling,  who  were 
Republican  leaders  in  the  Senate,  had  admitted  to  him 
that  if  the  Democrats  had  insisted  upon  the  joint  rule, 
they  would  have  yielded  the  point  and  allowed  the  ques 
tion  to  be  settled  in  accordance  with  the  precedents  of  the 
three  last  Presidential  elections.  But  they  were  far  from 
admitting  this  openly.  On  the  contrary,  they  argued  that 
the  joint  rule,  adopted  by  a  particular  Congress,  was  in 
force  for  that  Congress  only,  and  was  in  no  way  binding 
on  its  successors.  They  insisted  that  under  the  Constitu 
tion  the  Vice-President  was  to  determine  the  result,  and 
it  was  intimated  very  positively  in  many  quarters  that 
General  Grant,  who  was  the  President,  would  employ  the 
whole  army  of  the  United  States  to  enforce  the  decision 
of  the  Vice-President,  whatever  it  might  be. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  107 

This  threat  was  startling  to  our  people,  who  were  just 
recovering  from  the  agony  of  the  four  years  between  1861 
and  1865.  Mr.  Tilden  declared  to  his  friends  that  on  no 
account  should  his  pretensions  to  the  Presidency  be  made 
the  occasion  for  another  civil  war,  and  finally  they  accepted 
a  compromise.  It  was  agreed  that  there  should  be  an 
electoral  commission  of  fifteen  who  were  to  pass  upon  the 
validity  of  the  various  certificates  from  the  contesting 
States,  and  determine  the  result.  Four  of  the  commission 
were  to  be  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  were  selected  from  those  who  were  thought  to 
be  most  impartial.  Five  Senators  and  five  Representatives 
were  added  to  the  commission.  This  made  the  number 
fourteen,  of  whom  seven  were  Democrats  and  seven 
Republicans.  The  question  then  occurred,  Who  should 
be  the  fifteenth  member  and  have  in  effect  the  casting 
vote  in  case  of  a  division  on  party  lines?  There  was  in  the 
Supreme  Court  at  that  time  one  man,  David  Davis,  of 
Illinois,  who  was  thought  to  be  impartial.  The  Demo 
crats  expressed  their  willingness  to  accept  him  as  the 
fifteenth  member.  He  had  been  a  Republican,  but  it  was 
thought  that  he  was  an  independent  one,  and  that  his 
decision  would  be  free  from  partisan  bias.  Here  the 
Republicans  were  too  clever  for  us.  They  induced  the 
Legislature  of  Illinois  to  elect  Mr.  Davis  as  Senator  from 
that  State.  In  an  evil  hour  he  accepted  the  election, 
and  resigned  his  position  as  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Then  the  Democratic  leaders  in  Congress  were  prevailed 
upon  to  accept  Mr.  Justice  Bradley  as  the  fifteenth 
member  of  the  board. 


io8        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

This  great  cause  came  on  to  be  heard  in  the  Capitol  in 
Washington,  February  i,  1877.  Charles  O' Conor  was 
leader  among  the  counsel  for  Mr.  Tilden.  Mr.  Evarts 
was  leader  among  the  counsel  for  Mr.  Hayes. 

While  all  this  discussion  had  been  going  on  among  the 
people  and  in  Congress  both  parties  had  sent  leading  men 
from  the  North  into  the  Southern  States  to  investigate 
the  three  contested  elections.  These  gentlemen  came  to 
be  called  " visiting  statesmen."  Each  reported  according 
to  his  party  bias,  with  one  honorable  exception.  Francis 
C.  Barlow  of  New  York  went  to  Florida  and  reported 
that  in  his  judgment  the  majority  of  legal  votes  in  that 
State  had  been  cast  for  Tilden;  that  there  was  no  evidence 
of  fraud  or  intimidation  that  would  justify  the  rejection 
of  the  vote  as  returned  at  the  time.  Mr.  Barlow  was  a 
Harvard  graduate.  During  1860,  he  took  an  active  part 
in  the  Republican  campaign.  He  made  up  his  mind  that 
war  was  sure  to  come.  At  the  very  first  call  to  arms  he 
volunteered  in  the  Twelfth  New  York  Regiment.  He 
rose  to  be  a  Major-General  of  Volunteers,  served  with  the 
greatest  distinction,  and  conceived  a  bitter  hatred  for  skulk 
ers,  who  kept  out  of  the  fighting  though  their  names  were 
on  the  army  rolls.  Barlow  was  wounded,  it  was  thought 
at  the  time  mortally,  at  the  battle  of  Antietam.  As  he 
was  being  carried  off  the  field  he  saw  one  of  these  men,  who 
afterwards  rose  high  in  the  ranks  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  comfortably  playing  cards  in  the  rear.  Men  like 
these  have  always  been  the  loudest  advocates  of  pensions 
for  the  old  soldiers,  and  manage  to  get  a  full  share  for 
themselves.  Barlow  cordially  detested  fraud  on  whatever 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  109 

side  it  was  shown,  and  not  for  the  Presidency  would  he 
countenance  it  in  either  party. 

The  Electoral  Commission  canvassed  the  vote  of  the 
several  States  in  alphabetical  order.  The  returning  board 
in  Florida,  by  changing  the  returns  from  the  electoral 
districts,  had  made  out  a  majority  for  the  Hayes  electors. 
An  act  of  the  Florida  Legislature,  approved  January  17, 
1877,  authorized  a  recanvass.  This  was  made  and  showed 
a  majority  for  the  Tilden  electors.  Their  election  was 
certified  by  the  Governor  and  by  the  Secretary  of  State, 
under  the  great  seal  of  the  State. 

The  Tilden  electors  brought  an  action  of  quo  warranto 
against  the  Hayes  electors  in  the  Circuit  Court  for  the 
second  circuit  of  Florida.  This  Court  determined  that  the 
Tilden  electors  were  entitled  to  the  office  and  rendered 
judgment  in  their  favor. 

The  Electoral  Commission  excluded  evidence  of  these 
proceedings  and  held  that  no  evidence  could  be  received 
which  had  not  been  submitted  to  the  joint  convention 
of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  except  as  to  the  eligibility 
of  electors.  This  decision  was  made  by  a  vote  of  eight  to 
seven.  Mr.  Justice  Bradley  gave  the  casting  vote  in 
accordance  with  his  political  predilections.  The  other 
seven  votes  on  each  side  were  cast  in  like  manner.  The 
Democrats  voted  for  the  Tilden  electors,  and  the  Republi 
cans  for  the  Hayes  electors.  So  it  was  Mr.  Justice  Bradley 
who  determined  the  result  in  favor  of  the  latter. 

The  majority  held  that  no  evidence  of  fraud  in  the 
action  of  the  returning  boards  could  be  permitted  to 
overcome  the  effect  of  the  certificate  under  the  great  seal  of 


no        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  State,  under  the  hand  of  the  Governor.  Mr.  Justice 
Bradley  delivered  an  opinion  that  evidence  "aliunde  the 
record"  could  not  be  received  to  impeach  the  certificate, 
and  he  came  to  be  known  as  "aliunde  Bradley.  "x 

This  decision  in  the  Florida  case  was  approved  by  the 
Senate  by  a  vote  of  44  to  25.  It  was  rejected  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  by  a  vote  of  168  to  103.  There 
upon,  pursuant  to  the  act  creating  the  Commission,  its 
decision  became  final. 

When  the  vote  of  Louisiana  came  to  be  canvassed,  the 
same  rule  was  applied.  Evidence  was  offered  that  a  clear 
majority  of  the  votes  of  the  State  had  been  cast  for  the 
Tilden  electors,  and  that  the  returning  board  had  fraudu 
lently  and  without  good  cause  stricken  out  the  vote  of 
enough  parishes  to  show  an  apparent  majority  for  the 
Hayes  electors.  In  this  case  the  Tilden  electors  had  a 
certificate  of  election  from  Francis  T.  Nichols,  who  was 
afterwards  acknowledged  by  President  Hayes,  to  be  the 
Governor  of  Louisiana.  Nevertheless,  the  Commission, 
by  a  strict  party  vote,  held  that  the  vote  of  the  State 
should  be  cast  by  the  Hayes  electors. 

The  Democrats  thought  that  they  had  an  answer  to 
Judge  Bradley's  argument,  and  that  notwithstanding  the 
decision  in  the  cases  of  Florida  and  Louisiana,  Tilden 
might  yet  secure  a  majority  of  the  Electoral  College.  In 
Oregon  one  of  the  Republican  electors  was  a  postmaster. 
Section  I,  Article  II.  of  the  Constitution  provides  that 
no  "person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under 
the  United  States  shall  be  appointed  an  elector."  The 

'Electoral  count  of  1877,  pp.  138,  196,  202. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  in 

Democratic  lawyers  advised  that  this  postmaster  was 
ineligible,  that  the  votes  for  him  could  not  be  lawfully 
counted,  and  that  consequently  the  person  receiving  the 
next  highest  number  of  votes  was  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the 
Electoral  College  of  Oregon  and  to  cast  one  vote  as  elector 
for  the  State.  Accordingly  the  Tilden  elector  who  had 
received  the  largest  vote  on  his  ticket  cast  one  vote  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks.  This  vote  was  certified  by  Martin 
Grover,  who  was  the  Governor  of  Oregon,  and  under  the 
great  seal  of  the  State.  To  the  ordinary  man  this  certifi 
cate  would  seem  to  have  been  binding  upon  the  Electoral 
Commission  under  their  decision  in  the  Florida  and 
Louisiana  cases.  But  the  majority  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  necessary  to  elect  a  Republican 
President.  Their  own  decisions  were  not  entitled,  in  their 
view,  to  any  more  weight  than  the  popular  majority,  and 
accordingly  when  the  vote  of  Oregon  came  to  be  canvassed, 
they  received  evidence  to  show  that  the  three  Hayes 
electors  had  really  received  a  majority  vote  of  the  State 
of  Oregon.  They  disregarded  the  Constitutional  prohibi 
tion  against  the  selection  of  an  elector  from  among  per 
sons  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States.  Accordingly  the  whole  vote  of  Oregon  was  can 
vassed  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler.  This  settled  the  question. 
The  Democrats  made  a  contest  on  South  Carolina  and 
there  also  were  defeated  by  a  strict  party  vote.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  the  Republicans  had  some  reason  for 
claiming  the  vote  of  that  State.  Acts  of  violence  against 
the  negroes  were  most  notorious  there.  The  action  of  the 
returning  board  in  that  State  had  some  justification. 


112        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Meanwhile  a  very  important  question  had  been  mooted 
outside  of  the  Commission.  James  Russell  Lowell  had 
been  elected  a  Republican  elector  from  the  common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts.  He  had  become  convinced  that 
the  action  of  the  returning  boards,  at  any  rate  in  Louisi 
ana  and  Florida,  was  fraudulent  and  unwarranted,  and 
that  the  vote  of  both  of  those  States  should  be  counted  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks.  An  appeal  was  made  to  him  to 
cast  his  vote  in  the  Electoral  College  for  those  whom  he 
honestly  believed  to  have  received  the  majority  of  the 
popular  vote,  and  to  be  entitled  to  a'majority  of  the  votes 
in  the  Electoral  College.  It  was  urged  upon  him  that 
under  the  Constitution  it  was  his  duty  to  exercise  dis 
cretion  in  casting  his  electoral  vote.  The  Constitution 
makes  no  mention  of  political  conventions.  It  requires  the 
electors  to  meet  in  their  respective  States  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom  at 
least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  as 
themselves.  This  is  the  only  restriction. 

It  was  also  made  clear  to  Mr.  Lowell  that  in  the  Federal 
ist  and  the  contemporary  debates,  when  the  Constitution 
was  under  consideration,  it  was  distinctly  stated  that  the 
duty  of  selecting  the  President  should  devolve  upon  the 
electors.  It  was  insisted  that  if  Mr.  Lowell  could  not 
conscientiously  vote  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks  he  ought 
not  to  vote  at  all.  This  would  have  left  the  vote  a  tie. 
In  this  case,  under  the  Constitution,  the  election  of  Presi 
dent  would  have  gone  into  the  House  of  Representatives, 
the  vote  would  have  been  taken  by  States,  the  majority 
of  the  States  were  Democratic,  and  the  Democratic  can- 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  113 

didate  would  have  been  elected.  The  Senate  would  have 
chosen  the  Vice-President.  But  Mr.  Lowell  declared  that 
whatever  his  convictions  might  be  as  to  the  result  of  the 
national  election,  and  the  proceedings  in  other  States  to 
certify  the  electors  from  that  State,  he  had  been  elected 
by  the  voters  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts; 
that  it  was  the  unquestionable  desire  of  the  voters  of  that 
commonwealth  that  Hayes  and  Wheeler  should  be  voted 
for  in  the  Electoral  College;  that  he  was  simply  a  trustee 
whose  duty  it  was  to  vote  in  accordance  with  the  will 
of  his  constituents,  even  though  this  had  not  been  ex 
pressed  in  any  legal  or  constitutional  way. 

Accordingly,  when  the  votes  of  Massachusetts  were 
counted,  it  was  found  that  they  were  all  for  Hayes  and 
Wheeler.  The  Commission  held  that  185  electoral  votes 
had  been  cast  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler  and  184  for  Tilden 
and  Hendricks. 

Some  of  the  Democrats  in  the  House  could  not  endure 
what  seemed  to  them  the  manifest  partisanship  of  the 
decision  of  the  Electoral  College,  and  favored  a  filibuster 
which  might  defeat  the  declaration  of  the  vote,  but  Mr. 
Tilden  manfully  opposed  all  such  suggestions,  submitted 
himself  like  a  good  citizen  to  the  decision  of  the  tribunal 
upon  which  both  parties  had  agreed,  and  accordingly  the 
action  of  the  Commission  was  ratified  by  Congress  on  the 
second  of  March,  1877.  On  the  fifth  of  March,  1877 
(the  fourth  being  Sunday),  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  inau 
gurated  as  President  of  the  United  States,  and  William  A. 
Wheeler  was  duly  inducted  as  Vice-President  and  Presi 
dent  of  the  Senate. 

8 


114        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

During  the  contested  Presidential  election,  Abram  S. 
Hewitt,  who  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  New  York  City,  was  one  of  Mr.  Tilden's  most 
steadfast  supporters.  In  November,  1891,  in  a  public 
speech  in  New  York,  he  told  of  this  offer. 

"The  State  of  Louisiana  has  determined  a  Presidential 
election.  The  vote  of  this  State  was  offered  to  me  for 
money,  and  I  declined  to  buy  it.  But  the  vote  of  that 
State  was  sold  for  money."1 

During  all  this  controversy  there  had  been  a  certain 
eddy.  The  conditions  of  the  carpetbag  government  in 
Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  had  become  so  intolerable 
that  the  cooler  heads  among  the  Republicans  felt  that  it 
was  impossible  to  stand  for  it  any  longer.  It  was  alleged 
that  there  was  a  bargain  between  them  and  some  of  the 
Southern  leaders,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  Southern 
leaders  should  not  contest  the  election  of  Hayes  and 
Wheeler,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Republicans 
would  not  oppose  the  determination  of  the  local  State 
elections  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  candidates  for 
governor;  while  Mr.  Hayes  would  not  support  by  Federal 
troops  the  claim  of  the  Republican  candidates  to  hold  the 
local  offices  to  which  the  returning  boards  declared  they 
had  been  elected.  Whether  this  bargain  was  made  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  In  any  case  the  terms  of  it  were  carried 
out.  It  was  plain  that  if  the  Tilden  electors  were  not 
entitled  to  the  votes  of  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina, 
the  Republican  candidates  for  governor  of  those  respec 
tive  States  were  entitled  to  that  office. 

1  Hudson,  Random  Recollections,  p.  77. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1872-1876  115 

President  Hayes,  however,  withdrew  from  S.  B.  Pack 
ard,  who  had  been  declared  by  the  returning  board 
Governor  of  Louisiana,  the  support  of  the  Federal  troops. 
Nicholl,  his  Democratic  competitor,  had  been  sworn  in, 
January  8,  1877.  As  soon  as  the  Federal  troops  were 
withdrawn,  he  became  Governor  de  facto,  and  his  adminis 
tration  was  the  only  one  recognized  by  the  Federal 
authorities.  He  afterwards  became  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana,  and  died,  full  of  years  and 
honors,  January  4,  1912. 


CHAPTER  VI 

NATIONAL  POLITICS  AFTER  THE  WAR, 

1877-1 884 — (Continued) 

.',.  •  ••;        '  .'-_ 

THE  Administration  of  Mr.  Hayes  was  honorable  to 
himself  and  to  the  country.  If  history  must  condemn  the 
method  by  which  his  title  was  declared  and  his  inaugura 
tion  secured,  it  must  honor  his  conduct  when  in  office. 
Probably  he  reconciled  his  conscience  to  what  had  been 
done  as  Mr.  Scudder  did.  William  M.  Evarts  became  his 
Secretary  of  State,  Carl  Schurz,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
and  John  Sherman,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  During  his 
Administration  the  Government  and  the  banks  resumed 
specie  payment  without  shock.  Confidence  was  restored, 
business  prospered,  commerce  increased.  The  election  of 
1880  found  the  country  satisfied.  During  the  previous 
years,  a  Republican  Committee  of  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives,  under  the  leadership  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  had 
tried  to  distract  public  attention  from  the  methods  which 
had  been  adopted  to  seat  Mr.  Hayes,  by  attacking  the 
good  faith  of  Mr.  Tilden  and  his  associates  during  the 
campaign  of  1876.  Some  of  the  officials  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  were  willing  to  cooperate  in 
this  undertaking  and  produced  great  numbers  of  tele 
grams  which  had  been  sent  during  the  campaign.  This 

116 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  117 

was  done,  in  obedience  to  a  subpoena,  but  it  was  done  in 
violation  of  the  law  prohibiting  such  production,  which 
showed  that  the  officials  were  on  the  Republican  side.  A 
better  piece  of  stage  management  than  that  of  General 
Butler  during  this  investigation  can  hardly  be  imagined. 
[  It  is  said  that  no  cipher  was  ever  invented  which  was 
not  decipherable  by  skill.  The  cipher  which  had  been  used 
by  the  Til  den  Committee  was  deciphered  and  the  contents 
of  the  telegrams  given  to  the  world.  They  showed  that  he 
distrusted  the  honesty  and  good  faith  of  the  Republican 
managers  and  that  every  endeavor  was  being  made  by 
him  and  his  friends  to  counteract  the  manoeuvres  on  behalf 
of  Hayes  and  Wheeler.  They  showed  that  he  could  have 
had  the  vote  of  one  of  the  Republican  electors  from  Loui 
siana  if  he  had  been  willing  to  pay  a  round  sum  for  it. 
This  he  refused  to  do. 

The  telegrams  by  which  Governor  Grover  of  Oregon 
was  induced  to  certify  to  the  election  of  the  Democratic 
elector  from  that  State  were  brought  to  light  and  were 
made  a  subject  of  partisan  discussion.  It  was  alleged  on 
one  side  that  it  was  obvious  that  Oregon  had  intended  to 
vote  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler  and  that  it  was  monstrous 
to  try  to  divert  the  vote  of  one  elector  to  their  adversaries. 
Democrats  rejoined  that  the  method  adopted  by  the 
returning  boards  of  Louisiana  and  Florida  was  fraudu 
lent  and  all  the  worse  because  it  was  done  under  color  of 
law,  and  that  it  was  right  for  Mr.  Tilden  and  his  friends 
to  take  advantage  of  any  technicality  by  which  real 
justice  could  be  secured.  But  the  clever  manipulation  by 
which  portions  of  these  telegrams  were  given  to  the  press 


ii8        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

and  were  advertised  under  flaming  headlines  as  evidence 
of  fraud  and  corruption  of  the  Democrats,  did  succeed  in 
diverting  public  attention  from  the  real  question  as  to  the 
result  of  the  election  of  1876. 

During  this  contest,  Clarkson  N.  Potter  was  active  on 
behalf  of  his  neighbor,  Mr.  Tilden.  He  was  a  lawyer, 
tall  and  well  proportioned,  with  a  flexible,  well-modulated 
voice  and  magnetic  personality.  His  father,  the  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania,  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  full  of 
gravity  and  quiet  dignity.  His  political  opinions  were 
of  the  Federalist  type.  The  son  became  a  Democrat. 
Unlike  many  of  his  associates  he  realized  that  while  prin 
ciples  never  change,  their  application  varies  from  age  to 
age,  and  that  the  conservatism  of  to-day  often  stands 
where  the  most  progressive  stood  a  generation  ago. 

This  willingness  to  learn  is  one  of  the  marked  charac 
teristics  [of  our  age.  It  has  seen  so  much  that  was  said 
to  be  impossible,  and  has  realized  so  often  the  French 
proverb  that  the  thing  you  do  not  expect  is  always  that 
which  happens,  that  it  is  full  of  the  receptiveness  of 
youth. 

There  is  an  album  on  one  page  of  which  Guizot,  Thiers 
and  Bismarck  each  inscribed  a  sentence.  Guizot  wrote: 
"The  result  of  my  long  experience  in  life  is  that  it  is  wise 
to  forgive,  but  never  to  forget." 

Thiers  wrote  below:  "A  little  forgetfulness  would  not 
impair  the  sincerity  of  the  forgiveness. " 

Bismarck  added :  "I  have  been  so  busy  that  I  have  been 
obliged  to  forget." 

A  man  of  action  must  learn  this  lesson.    Mr.  Potter  was 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  119 

an  apt  scholar,  and  quickly  learned  the  lessons  of  the  Civil 
War. 

He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1868  from  the  West- 
chester  district,  and  with  an  interval  of  one  term  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  for  ten  years. 
During  a  large  part  of  this  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
minority.  Unfortunately  for  his  political  position,  he 
declined  reelection  in  October,  1874.  Had  he  been  a 
member  of  the  Democratic  House  that  assembled  in  1875, 
he  would  probably  have  been  elected  Speaker  instead  of 
Mr.  Randall.  But  his  position  in  the  party  nevertheless  was 
one  of  preeminence.  The  people  trusted  him,  and  had  he 
lived  he  would  probably  have  been  the  candidate  for 
Governor  in  1882.  Unfortunately  on  the  seventeenth  of 
January  of  that  year,  when  he  was  not  in  good  health,  he 
left  his  home  in  New  York,  on  an  express  train  for  Albany, 
intending  to  argue  a  case  before  the  Court  of  Appeals  that 
same  afternoon.  In  his  state  of  health  the  early  start  and 
the  sudden  plunge  into  the  excitement  of  the  argument 
after  the  fatigur  uf  his  journey  were  too  much  for  him.  He 
broke  down  during  the  argument,  was  removed  to  his 
home,  and  died  there  on  the  twenty-third  of  January, 
1882. 

I  must  mention  one  remarkable  piece  of  professional 
work,  which  showed  his  fertility  of  resource. 

A  sharp  contest  was  going  on  for  control  of  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  Company.  As  the  day  for  electing 
directors  approached,  it  became  evident  that  the  election 
would  depend  upon  the  vote  of  one  block  of  the  stock. 
With  this  Mr.  Potter's  clients  would  have  the  majority; 


120        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

without  it  they  were  in  the  minority.  They  secured  the 
support  of  the  holders,  and  then  it  was  suspected  that  the 
opposite  party  would  on  some  pretext  procure  at  the  last 
moment  an  injunction  from  Judge  George  G.  Barnard 
prohibiting  the  inspectors  from  counting  the  vote  of  this 
stock,  and  that  thus  they  expected  to  secure  the  triumph. 
Many  eminent  counsel  were  associated  with  Mr.  Potter 
in  this  case.  The  manoeuvre  which  won  the  day  was  the 
result  of  a  conference  between  them ;  but  it  does  them  no 
injustice  to  say  that  he  was  the  author.  A  bill  was  filed 
in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  alleging  the  impending 
danger  and  praying  that  the  inspectors  of  election  be 
enjoined  from  counting  or  declaring  the  vote  until  all 
controversy  as  to  this  particular  block  of  stock  should  be 
decided.  Judge  Blatchford  granted  an  injunction  in 
accordance  with  the  prayer  of  the  bill,  and  the  victory 
was  won. r 

The  Republican  National  Convention  that  met  in  1880 
was  harmonious  in  one  thing  only:  it  had  no  desire  to 
renominate  Mr.  Hayes.  Excellent  as  his  Administration 
had  been,  it  was  thought  advisable  not  to  raise  any 
question  as  to  the  validity  of  his  election  by  renominating 
him  as  a  candidate.  Accordingly  he  "  retired  unani 
mously."  James  A.  Garfield  represented  one  wing  of  the 
Republican  party.  He  was  bitterly  opposed  by  Senator 
Conkling,  but  he  was  nominated  for  President.  It  was 
thought  to  placate  Conkling  and  his  friends  by  nominat 
ing  Chester  A.  Arthur  for  Vice-President.  Arthur  had 

1  Brown  v.  Pacific  Mail  S.  S.  Co.,  5  Blatchf.  525  (1867).  The  ingenious 
proceedings  threatened  and  enjoined  are  in  this  report  detailed. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  121 

been  active  in  local  politics  in  New  York,  had  been  Collec 
tor  of  the  Port,  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  Mr.  Conkling. 

The  question  with  the  Democrats  was  whether  they 
should  renominate  Mr.  Tilden  and  make  the  campaign  on 
the  issue  of  fraud  in  1876.  The  New  York  Sun  advocated 
this  course.  For  successive  weeks  it  printed  a  crude 
likeness  of  Mr.  Hayes  on  its  editorial  page,  with  the  word 
"fraud"  inscribed  upon  his  brow.  But  the  ingenious 
handling  of  the  correspondence  which  has  been  mentioned 
led  many  Democrats  to  doubt  whether  it  was  best  to  make 
that  the  principal  issue  of  the  campaign.  Mr.  Tilden  said 
to  his  friends  that  he  was  willing  to  be  a  candidate  or  was 
willing  to  withdraw,  if  it  was  in  the  interest  of  the  party, 
and  he  gave  one  of  them  a  letter  of  withdrawal  which  was 
finally  presented  to  the  Convention  at  St.  Louis. 

So  many  reproaches  had  been  cast  upon  the  party  for 
its  conduct  during  the  war,  that  it  was  thought  advisable 
to  nominate  a  man  whose  courage  and  loyalty  could  not 
be  questioned.  Accordingly  a  gallant  officer,  who  had 
served  with  distinction  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  war,  Winfield  Scott  Hancock,  was  nominated  for 
President.  The  nomination  was  received  with  enthu 
siasm,  and  great  encouragement  was  given  to  the  canvass 
by  the  result  of  the  Maine  election  in  September.  The 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor,  Garcelon,  was 
elected,  it  being  the  first  time  that  the  Democrats  had 
carried  the  State  since  1853.  We  held  jubilee  meetings 
all  over  the  country  to  stir  up  the  constituencies  to 
renewed  efforts  for  Hancock. 

The  tariff  question  was  discussed  more  than  it  had  been 


122       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

in  1876.  But  the  Democrats  were  not  united.  Protec 
tionist  Democrats  like  Randall,  who  had  been  the  Speaker 
of  the  last  House,  found  the  tariff  very  well  as  it  was. 
Hancock,  in  the  course  of  the  campaign,  tried  to  reconcile 
and  unite  his  supporters,  and  used  an  expression  which 
became  famous,  "The  tariff  is  a  local  issue. "  In  one  sense, 
this  is  true.  The  interest  of  voters  in  each  part  of  the 
country  has  always  influenced  their  votes  on  the  tariff. 
Pennsylvania  was  carried  for  the  Democrats  in  1844  by 
the  cry  "Polk  and  Dallas  and  the  tariff  of  1842."  This 
latter  tariff,  be  it  remembered,  was  considered  in  those 
days  a  high  protectionist  tariff,  though  in  comparison 
with  the  McKinley  and  the  Payne-Aldrich  bills,  it  was 
moderate  indeed.  Times  had  changed,  however,  since 
1844.  The  utterance  referred  to  cooled  the  zeal  of  Demo 
cratic  tariff  reformers,  and  gained  no  votes  from  the 
opposite  side.  The  result  was  that  Garfield  and  Arthur 
were  elected  in  November,  1880. 

The  troubles  of  the  Administration  began  in  March, 
1 88 1.  The  Senate  assembled  in  extra  session  to  give  their 
advice  and  consent  to  the  nominations  by  the  new  Presi 
dent.  A  controversy  arose,  not  as  to  any  great  measure 
of  statesmanship,  but  as  to  who  should  be  appointed  to 
the  office  of  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  Senator 
Conkling  claimed  the  right  to  control  that  particular 
piece  of  patronage.  The  President  thought  proper  to 
exercise  the  power  of  appointment  which  the  Constitu 
tion  conferred  upon  him,  and  appointed  William  H. 
Robertson,  a  leading  Republican,  and  able  lawyer,  in 
spite  of  Mr.  Conkling' s  protest.  It  seems  hardly  possible 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  123 

that  so  much  bitterness  should  have  been  stirred  up  within 
a  great  party  on  such  a  subject,  but  it  was. 

Mr.  Conkling  and  his  junior,  Thomas  C.  Platt,  resigned 
their  office,  May  14,  1881,  and  went  back  to  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  for  reelection  and  vindication. 

Meanwhile  an  unbalanced,  excitable  person  named 
Guiteau,  who  had  been  an  admirer  of  Conkling,  had  been 
himself  an  applicant  for  office,  and  had  been  disappointed, 
went  to  the  station  of  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Rail 
road  in  Washington  on  the  morning  of  the  second  of  July, 
1 88 1,  and  shot  the  President.  The  crime  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  the  country.  Every  exertion  was  made  to 
save  Mr.  Garfield's  life.  He  was  taken  on  a  special  train 
to  Elberon,  New  Jersey.  All  through  the  summer  there 
were  hopes  for  his  recovery,  but  in  September  he  died,  and 
Arthur,  who  had  been  acting  as  President,  was  sworn  in 
and  became  President  of  the  United  States.  If  it  had  been 
supposed  possible  that  the  Vice-President  would  succeed, 
Arthur  would  not  have  been  the  man  to  be  selected.  He 
changed  entirely  the  Cabinet  of  his  chief,  but  he  selected 
competent  men  for  his  Cabinet  officers.  Unlike  every 
other  President  of  the  United  States,  he  left  most  of  the 
executive  business  to  them,  and  contented  himself  with 
filling  an  honorable  ornamental  position,  similar  to  that 
of  the  President  of  the  French  Republic. 

The  assassination  of  Garfield  was  so  coupled  with  the 
unseemly  contest  for  patronage  and  office  that  had  been 
going  on  ever  since  Garfield  was  inaugurated,  that  it  led 
men  of  all  parties  to  listen  to  those  who  had  advocated 
the  cause  of  civil  service  reform.  President  Arthur 


124       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

recommended  to  Congress  the  passage  of  a  civil  service 
bill.  This  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Pendleton  of 
Ohio,  passed  almost  unanimously  through  both  Houses, 
and  became  a  law,  January  16,  1883. 

Meanwhile,  the  late  Senators  from  New  York  did  not 
receive  the  vindication  they  expected.  After  a  long  and 
bitter  contest  in  the  Legislature,  they  failed  to  receive  a 
majority  vote,  and  others  were  chosen  in  their  place.  Mr. 
Conkling  went  back  to  practice  law  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  Proud,  high-spirited,  overbearing  always,  his  ability 
gained  for  him  a  prominent  position  at  the  Bar.  Un 
fortunately,  on  the  bitter  morning  of  the  blizzard  in 
March,  1888,  he  undertook  to  walk  down  Broadway  from 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  to  his  office,  was  chilled  and 
overcome  by  the  storm,  and  died  shortly  afterwards. 

Platt  remained  in  a  certain  degree  of  obscurity  for  a 
time,  but  finally  regained  his  political  prestige,  was  re 
turned  to  the  Senate,  and  remained  there  until  the  fourth 
of  March,  1909.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  during  the 
winter  session  of  Congress,  1908-09.  He  was  in  his  room 
at  the  Arlington,  which  he  had  occupied  for  many  years; 
was  old,  infirm,  could  not  walk  any  longer  without  assist 
ance,  but  showed  in  every  look  and  gesture  all  his  old-time 
shrewdness.  He  was  a  power  in  the  State  of  New  York 
while  he  lived,  but  he  left  nothing  of  permanent  value  to 
make  his  fellow-citizens  remember  him,  and  will  speedily 
be  forgotten. 

These  divisions  left  the  Republican  party  in  New  York 
in  a  disorganized  condition.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
Congressional  and  State  elections  of  1882,  the  Democrats 


PRESIDENT    GROVER    CLEVELAND 

(From  a  Painting  by  Zorn   in  the  Possession  of  Mrs.  Daniel  S.  Lamont) 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  125 

had  good  hope  of  success.  Their  chances  in  New  York 
were  much  improved  by  the  interference  of  the  President. 
He  recommended  to  the  Republican  Convention  the 
nomination  of  Charles  J.  Folger,  who  was  then  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  He  had  been  chief  judge  of  the  New 
York  Court  of  Appeals,  and  was  a  lawyer  of  great  ability 
and  high  character.  But  at  that  time  the  temper  of  many 
New  York  Republicans  was  such  that  the  Angel  Gabriel 
would  not  have  been  acceptable  to  them  had  he  been 
supposed  to  be  favorable  to  the  Administration  of  Presi 
dent  Arthur.  This  ill-judged  interference  was  fatal, 
although  in  any  case  the  Democrats  would  have  carried 
the  election. 

At  the  Democratic  Convention  the  question  was,  who 
should  be  the  candidate.  Daniel  Manning,  who  was  one 
of  the  ablest  and  shrewdest  political  managers  New  York 
ever  saw,  brought  forward  a  young  Democrat  from  the 
western  part  of  the  State,  who  had  won  the  confidence  of 
the  people  of  Buffalo  and  of  Erie  County  by  the  fidelity 
with  which  he  had  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
sheriff,  and  afterwards  those  of  mayor.  To  both  offices 
he  had  been  elected  as  a  reform  candidate.  He  had 
won  the  confidence  of  his  political  friends,  and  of  many 
Republicans. 

Sherman  S.  Rogers,  who  was  one  of  the  best  lawyers 
in  New  York  and  had  been  for  many  years  the  leading 
Republican  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  said  to  me 
before  Grover  Cleveland  was  nominated  for  Governor, 
that  he  was  a  man  of  high  character,  great  ability,  unusual 
courage,  and  especially  fitted  for  the  duties  of  Governor. 


126       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

"But, "  he  added,  "the  Democrats  are  not  wise  enough  to 
nominate  him."  We  did,  however,  nominate  Cleveland, 
and  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  192,800.  On  the  first 
of  January,  1883,  he  was  inaugurated. 

Up  to  this  time  he  was  unknown  to  the  people  outside 
the  State  of  New  York.  It  was  said  that  he  had  never 
been  in  Washington  until  the  time  of  his  inauguration. 
But  his  election  by  so  large  a  majority  gave  him  a  promi 
nence  which  made  him  the  most  eligible  candidate  for 
nomination  by  the  party  in  1884.  As  long  ago  as  July, 
1832,  Daniel  Webster  wrote  to  Abraham  Van  Vechten  of 
Albany,  "On  the  whole,  we  think  all  depends  on  New 
York.  We  cannot  doubt  that  if  the  great  State  goes 
right,  the  general  result  will  be  right."  Democrats  gen 
erally  in  1884  were  of  the  same  opinion. 

Beside  the  regular  delegation  selected  at  the  Democratic 
State  Convention,  there  was  a  delegation  of  independents 
who  went  to  Chicago  to  advocate  the  nomination  of  Cleve 
land.  We  had  a  special  train  over  the  newly  built  West 
Shore  Railroad,  which  had  gone  into  the  hands  of  a 
receiver  before  it  was  finished.  We  made  a  vigorous 
canvass  at  Chicago,  and  had  something  to  do  with  the 
nomination  which  was  finally  made.  At  that  Convention 
the  Tammany  delegation  appeared  in  full  force.  In 
company  with  some  of  my  Chicago  friends  I  watched 
their  parade  through  the  streets.  They  expressed  surprise 
that  these  were  such  a  good-looking  set  of  men.  I  replied 
then,  as  I  have  often  said  since,  that  there  were  a  great 
many  good  men  in  Tammany  Hall. 

The  nomination  was  made  and  we  set  to  work.    At  an 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  127 

early  period  some  scandalmongers  in  Buffalo  brought 
forward  charges  affecting  Mr.  Cleveland's  private  life. 
These  scandals  startled  many  of  his  supporters.  R.  R. 
Bowker,  who  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Republican 
contingent  that  had  been  supporting  Cleveland,  tele 
graphed  him, ' '  What  reply  shall  be  made  ? "  and  the  answer 
was:  "Tell  the  truth." 

The  Republicans  had  nominated  James  G.  Blaine.  He 
had  been  bitterly  opposed  in  the  Convention.  One  of  his 
most  active  opponents  at  that  time  afterwards  became 
President  of  the  United  States.  But  Theodore  Roosevelt 
finally  came  to  the  support  of  the  candidate.  George 
William  Curtis,  Carl  Schurz  and  E.  L.  Godkin,  of  the 
Evening  Post,  came  out  in  support  of  Cleveland.  The 
bitterness  with  which  these  men  were  assailed  is  almost 
incredible.  Mr.  Curtis  was  in  the  constant  receipt  of 
scurrilous  and  threatening  letters. 

The  members  of  the  Bar  in  New  York  City  came  out 
gallantly  in  support  of  Cleveland.  Fifteen  hundred  of  us 
marched  in  procession  on  the  first  of  November.  I  wrote 
an  editorial  for  the  Post  in  which  I  stated  that  we  did  this 
in  order  publicly  to  advise  our  clients : 

That  we  had  studied  the  Blaine  letters;  that  we  were  con 
vinced  as  lawyers  that  he  had  sold  his  official  power  and 
influence  for  railroad  bonds;  that  if  President  he  would  do 
the  same  thing;  that  consequently  the  rights  of  every  citizen, 
even  the  humblest,  would  be  endangered  by  his  election.  The 
property  and  liberty  of  every  man  are  subject  to  the  decision 
of  the  courts.  The  President  appoints  the  Federal  judges. 
Blaine,  if  elected  will  appoint  four  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Federal  judges  appoint  the  supervisors  of  elections. 


128        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  worst  political  evil  that  can  happen  to  their  clients,  the 
lawyers  reasoned,  is  the  election  of  Elaine. 

Whether  these  charges  against  Blaine  were  well  founded, 
it  is  now  unnecessary  to  consider,  but  we  thoroughly 
believed  that  they  were,  and  on  this  ground  many  Re 
publicans  came  to  our  assistance.  On  the  other  hand, 
Blaine  had  many  elements  of  popularity  of  which  Cleve 
land  was  destitute.  He  had  extraordinary  personal  mag 
netism,  and  had  kept  a  large  following  on  both  sides  of  the 
political  line.  It  was  a  close  struggle.  An  incident  that 
occurred  near  the  conclusion,  was  thought  to  turn  the 
scale  in  New  York.  At  a  meeting  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel,  from  which  it  was  hoped  that  the  sympathies  of 
religious  people  would  be  enlisted  in  Elaine's  support, 
Dr.  Burchard,  a  leading  clergyman,  arraigned  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  According  to  him,  it  had  always  been  a 
supporter  of  "  Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion. "  This 
curious  alliteration  was  placarded  all  over  the  city  and 
especially  brought  to  the  attention  of  Roman  Catholic 
voters.  Whatever  Blaine  may  have  gained  among  the 
Protestants  he  more  than  lost  from  the  other  side,  and 
when  the  votes  were  counted  it  appeared  that  Cleveland 
had  carried  the  State  of  New  York  by  a  majority  of  1149; 
small,  but  sufficient/  So  it  proved  to  be  true,  as  Schurz 
and  George  Haven  Putnam  had  repeatedly  claimed,  that 
both  the  political  organizations  were  "minority  parties." 
Neither  could  succeed  without  the  help  of  the  independent 
voters,  the  growth  of  whose  numbers  and  influence  since 
the  movement  of  the  "Young  Scratchers"  in  New  York 
in  1879  became  a  noteworthy  feature  of  political  history. 


NATIONAL  POLITICS,  1877-1884  129 

This  was  a  campaign,  organized  by  R.  R.  Bowker,  to 
induce  Republican  voters  to  scratch  the  name  of  an  ob 
noxious  candidate  from  their  ticket.  It  succeeded  and  his 
Democratic  opponent  was  elected,  the  only  one  on  his 
ticket  who  had  a  majority. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    FIRST  CLEVELAND  ADMINISTRATION,    1885-1889 
THE  HARRISON  ADMINISTRATION,    1889-1893 

THE  two  most  important  subjects  that  Mr.  Cleveland 
had  to  deal  with  during  his  first  Administration  were  the 
civil  service  and  the  tariff.  Cleveland  found  himself 
embarrassed  by  applications  for  office  from  the  members 
of  the  party  who  had  practically  held  no  Federal  offices 
since  1861.  The  proscription  to  which  Democrats  had 
been  subjected  in  the  matter  of  Federal  appointments 
led  to  the  feeling  that  many  of  the  old  officials  should  be 
removed  to  make  room  for  new.  Of  course  the  chief 
officers  of  the  Government  should  be  selected  from  those 
who  are  in  sympathy  with  the  President,  and  they  were. 
But  the  question  was  embarrassing  with  reference  to  the 
appointment  to  offices,  the  tenure  of  which  was  fixed  by 
law  for  four  years. 

Cleveland  decided  that  those  persons  who  had  been 
appointed  during  the  Republican  Administration  and  had 
served  faithfully  should  serve  out  their  terms,  and  that 
partisan  activity  on  the  part  of  any  officers  of  the  Govern 
ment  should  not  be  permitted. 

One  difficulty  that  beset  him  in  his  first  Administration 
was  want  of  familiarity  with  the  organization  of  business 

130 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893    131 

in  Washington.  In  this  I  was  able  to  be  of  service. 
Colonel  Lamont,  his  private  secretary  while  he  was  Gover 
nor,  who  accompanied  him  to  Washington,  and  became 
Secretary  of  War  during  the  second  Administration,  asked 
me  what  I  would  recommend  in  reference  to  retaining  the 
subordinate  staff  at  the  White  House.  I  told  him  that  I 
would  advise  him  to  retain  them ;  that  the  men  had  grown 
up  in  Washington  during  the  war,  had  taken  practically 
no  part  in  politics ;  that  it  had  become  part  of  their  nature 
to  be  loyal  to  the  Administration ;  that  this  was  a  matter 
of  conscience  during  the  war,  and  that  the  tradition  re 
mained.  The  staff  at  the  White  House  would  be  as  loyal 
to  the  new  Administration  as  they  had  been  to  the  old, 
and  their  intelligence,  their  knowledge  of  the  methods  of 
doing  business  in  Washington  and  of  the  etiquette  of  that 
place,  which  is  full  of  traditions  and  observances,  would  be 
of  great  value.  My  suggestion  was  adopted  and  there 
never  was  any  regret.  Charles  Milton  Hendley  in  parti 
cular,  who  was  then  one  of  the  junior  secretaries,  and  who 
afterwards  left  the  government  service  and  went  into 
business  with  success,  was  an  intelligent  and  faithful 
assistant. 

In  one  respect  Cleveland  added  greatly  to  the  efficiency 
of  his  Administration,  and  promoted  that  unity  in  public 
sentiment  which  can  never  prevail  when  persons  from  one 
section  of  the  country  are  practically  excluded  from  office. 
He  placed  in  high  public  station  many  Southerners.  Some, 
like  Hilary  A.  Herbert,  became  members  of  his  Cabinet. 
Others  filled  various  positions  of  trust  under  the  Govern 
ment.  William  L.  Trenholm,  for  example,  became  Civil 


132       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Service  Commissioner,  and  afterwards  Comptroller  of  the 
Currency.  The  South  began  to  feel  that  once  more  it  had 
part  in  the  Government,  and  this  did  much  to  promote 
better  understanding  between  the  different  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  apprehension  that  general  business  would  decline 
in  consequence  of  the  election  of  a  Democratic  President 
proved  to  be  mistaken. 

Business  was  brisk ;  imports  increased,  and  consequently 
the  receipts  of  the  Government  from  duties.  This  led  to 
an  increasing  surplus  in  the  Treasury,  and  convinced 
Cleveland  that  there  must  be  a  revision  and  reduction  of 
the  tariff.  He  determined  to  bring  this  specifically  to  the 
attention  of  Congress,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  session  in 
December,  1887,  devoted  his  whole  message  to  a  considera 
tion  of  the  tariff,  and  the  necessity  for  its  reduction.  On 
this  issue  the  campaign  of  1888  was  waged. 

In  Cleveland's  letter,  dated  June  29,  1887,  to  the 
Tammany  Society  in  answer  to  their  invitation  to  take 
part  in  an  Independence  Day  celebration,  he  stated  his 
position  concisely. 

Our  Government  belongs  to  the  people.  They  have  decreed 
its  purposes,  and  it  is  their  clear  right  to  demand  that  its  cost 
shall  be  limited  by  frugality  and  that  its  burden  of  expenses 
shall  be  limited  by  its  actual  needs,  and  yet  a  useless  and 
dangerous  surplus  in  the  national  Treasury  tells  no  other  tale 
than  that  of  extortion  on  the  part  of  the  Government  and  of 
the  perversion  of  the  people's  intention.  Although  those  who 
propose  a  remedy  for  present  evils  have  always  been  the 
friends  of  American  labor,  and  they  have  declared  their  pur 
pose  to  further  its  interest  in  all  their  efforts,  yet  those  who 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893    133 

oppose  reform,  attempt  to  disturb  our  workingmen  with  the 
cry  that  their  wages  and  their  employment  are  threatened. 
They  advocate  the  system  which  benefits  certain  classes  of  our 
citizens  at  the  expense  of  every  householder  in  the  land — a 
system  which  breeds  discontentment  because  it  permits  the 
duplication  of  wealth  without  corresponding  additional  re 
compense  to  labor,  which  prevents  the  opportunities  to  work 
by  stifling  production  and  limiting  the  area  of  our  markets, 
which  enhances  the  cost  of  living  beyond  the  laborers'  hard- 
earned  wages.  The  attempt  is  made  to  divert  the  attention 
of  the  people  from  the  evils  of  such  a  scheme  of  taxation  by 
branding  those  who  seek  to  correct  these  evils  as  free  traders 
and  enemies  of  our  workingmen  and  our  industrial  enterprises. 
That  is  so  far  from  the  truth  that  there  can  be  no  chance  for 
such  deception  to  succeed. 

This  statement  respecting  the  argument  that  a  high 
tariff  raises  wages  finds  an  illustration  in  the  strike  in 
the  glass  works,  which  took  place  immediately  after  the 
passage  of  the  tariff  bill  of  1883.  This  act  raised  the  duty 
on  beer  bottles  from  35%  ad  valorem  to  one  cent  a  pound 
which  was  in  effect  100%  ad  valorem.  This  was  done  by  a 
single  line  introduced  as  an  amendment  in  the  Senate,  the 
effect  of  which  was  probably  not  understood  by  ten  men 
who  voted  for  it.  It  netted  the  owners  of  the  bottles  in 
stock  in  this  country  a  profit  of  $400,000.  The  price  at 
once  went  up,  and  thereupon  the  Amalgamated  Glass 
Association  insisted  that  their  wages  should  be  raised 
ten  per  cent,  and  that  this  was  no  more  than  a  just  equiva 
lent  for  the  increase  in  duty.  Their  position  was  logic 
ally  unanswerable.  The  avowed  purpose  of  the  increase 
in  tariff  taxes  was  to  increase  the  wages  of  labor.  The 
men  knew  that  the  duty  had  been  trebled  and  it  was 


134       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

certainly  natural  that  they  should  insist  that  some  increase 
should  be  made  in  their  wages.  This  was  refused,  the 
men  struck,  and  our  glass  works  were  shut  down  for  nearly 
ten  months.  Almost  all  the  bottles  and  window  glass 
used  in  this  country  during  that  time  were  imported.  The 
result  was  a  loss  to  the  country  of  at  least  thirty  million 
dollars,  and  the  growing  trade  in  the  export  of  beer  to 
South  America  and  the  West  Indies  was  checked,  owing 
to  the  increase  in  the  price  of  bottles  in  which  the  beer  was 
shipped.  A  curious  feature  of  this  change,  and  one  char 
acteristic  of  the  McKinley  tariff,  was  that  while  the  duty 
on  cheap  beer  bottles  was  raised  to  one  hundred  per  cent, 
the  duty  on  costly  cut  glass  bottles  was  only  forty  per  cent. 

Some  Democrats  thought  Cleveland's  tariff  message  im 
politic.  But  his  party  stood  by  him  and  he  was  nominated 
at  St.  Louis  in  July,  1888.  Benjamin  Harrison  was  the 
Republican  candidate.  The  campaign  was  strenuous. 
Never  had  the  Democrats  faced  a  more  lavish  use  of 
money  on  the  Republican  side.  The  high  protectionists 
were  determined  to  win. 

James  P.  Foster,  who  was  president  of  the  Republican 
League,  at  about  this  time,  sent  a  circular  to  manufac 
turers  throughout  the  country  in  which  he  declared, 
quoting  from  a  Republican  Senator  whose  name  is  not 
given : 

The  campaign  which  we  are  about  to  enter  will  concern 
more  than  anybody  else  the  manufacturers  of  this  country. 
...  I  have  it  from  the  best  possible  source  that  the  manu 
facturers  of  Pennsylvania,  who  are  more  highly  protected  than 
anybody  else,  and  who  make  large  fortunes  every  year  when 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893  135 

times  are  prosperous,  practically  give  nothing  towards  the 
maintenance  of  the  ascendency  of  the  Republican  party.  Of 
course  I  shall  not  violate  what  I  consider  to  be  a  proper  prin 
ciple  of  action,  but  if  I  had  my  way  about  it  I  would  put  the 
manufacturers  of  Pennsylvania  under  the  fire  and  fry  all  the 
fat  out  of  them. 


Whether  our  opponents  succeeded  in  frying  the  fat  out 
of  the  Pennsylvania  manufacturers  we  had  no  authentic 
information.  There  was  no  law  at  that  time  requiring 
publicity  for  campaign  expenditures.  But  the  Republi 
cans  had  a  great  deal  more  money  to  spend  in  the  cam 
paign  than  the  Democrats  and  the  canvass  showed  it. 
We  made  a  gallant  fight,  and  discussed  the  tariff  and 
civil  service  reform  in  every  State,  notably  in  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey. 

Cleveland  had  done  his  utmost  to  check  the  extrava 
gance  of  pension  legislation.  Beside  the  general  pension 
bills,  it  had  become  the  custom  to  introduce  innumerable 
special  bills  giving  pensions  to  particular  persons.  He  was 
the  first  President  who  had  the  courage  to  examine  each 
of  these.  He  caused  a  special  inquiry  to  be  made  in 
every  case  by  officials  in  the  Pension  Office,  and  vetoed 
a  great  many  of  these  bills.  For  this  he  was  bitterly 
assailed  by  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
amongst  others  by  the  man  whom  Barlow  saw  playing 
cards  in  the  rear  at  the  battle  of  Antietam.  But  as  I 
made  campaign  speeches  in  the  different  States  I  have 
mentioned,  I  found  that  the  people  generally  approved  his 
conduct.  My  defense  of  him  was  always  greeted  with 
applause.  His  attitude  towards  pensions  was  not  the 


136       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

cause  of  our  defeat.  We  were  defeated.  Cleveland  had  a 
plurality  of  the  popular  votes,  as  Tilden  had  in  1876,  but 
the  plurality  against  him  in  the  State  of  New  York  though 
small  was  sufficient  to  give  the  electoral  vote  of  that  State 
to  Harrison.  This  turned  the  scale  and  he  was  elected. 

David  B.  Hill  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
governor  in  that  election.  He  had  been  nominated  for 
Lieu  tenant- Governor  in  1882  almost  by  a  fluke.  A  young 
lawyer,  whom  he  had  befriended,  and  who  had  been  put 
in  charge  of  a  newspaper  in  Elmira,  espoused  his  cause. 
He  was  then  an  obscure  man.  His  friend  eulogized  him  as 
a  Democratic  lighthouse  in  the  midst  of  that  Republican 
district.  There  was  no  other  prominent  candidate  and 
Hill  was  nominated.  On  one  occasion  in  1884,  when  he  was 
Lieutenant-Governor  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of  civil 
service  reform  a  service  of  vital  importance.  We  had 
carried  our  amended  bill  through  the  Assembly,  which 
was  then  Democratic.  The  Senate  was  Republican.  Its 
President,  pro  tern.,  was  Alvord,  of  Syracuse,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  "Old  Salt."  A  more  bitter  enemy 
of  civil  service  reform  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The 
amendments  to  the  law  which  had  passed  the  Assembly 
were  not  favored  in  the  Senate,  and  a  committee  of 
conference  was  in  order.  Everything  depended  on  the 
conferees.  We  knew  that  if  Alvord  were  to  appoint  them 
we  should  have  unfriendly  votes  in  the  committee  and 
would  probably  lose  all  that  was  valuable  in  our  amend 
ments.  So  Silas  W.  Burt  and  I  called  upon  Mr.  Hill,  told 
him  of  the  position,  reminded  him  of  the  pledges  of  the 
Democratic  platform  on  the  subject  of  civil  service 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893   137 

reform  and  of  what  the  Governor  himself  had  done  to 
promote  it,  and  asked  him  to  go  down  to  the  Senate  that 
evening  and  appoint  conferees  who  would  be  favorable 
to  the  amendment. 

Hill  said  it  had  been  his  practice  to  leave  the  Republican 
majority  responsible  for  legislation,  when  anything  of 
importance  was  under  consideration,  but  that  he  recog 
nized  the  importance  of  the  situation,  and  that  he  would 
go  down  to  the  Capitol  that  evening  and  would  appoint 
conferees  who  would  be  friendly  to  the  pending  bill. 

He  kept  his  word.  He  appointed  conferees  from  among 
our  friends  in  the  Senate.  They  recommended  to  the 
Senate  to  recede  and  concur  with  the  bill  substantially  as 
it  passed  the  Assembly.  The  Senate  did  so,  and  our  bill 
was  passed.  That  eminent  jurist,  Alton  B.  Parker,  has 
recently  stated  that  Hill  was  disappointed  at  the  result  of 
the  election;  that  he  felt  it  would  be  a  prejudice  to  his 
political  future  to  be  elected  Governor  while  Cleveland 
was  defeated  for  the  Presidency.  If  Hill  had  supported 
the  second  Administration  of  Cleveland,  and  had  been 
willing  to  keep  up  the  alliance  which  at  the  time  of  the 
incident  I  have  narrated  he  was  glad  to  maintain,  he 
would  probably  have  succeeded  Mr.  Cleveland  as 
President. 

Harrison  was  inaugurated  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1889. 
He  did  not  follow  Cleveland's  example  in  the  administra 
tion  of  the  civil  service  reform  system,  but  dismissed 
from  office  many  of  the  Democrats  who  had  been  promi 
nent  in  the  previous  Administration. 

There  was  a  celebration  in  New  York  in  April,  1889,  on 


138        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  centenary  of  the  inauguration  of  George  Washington. 
Harrison  took  part  in  it.  Amongst  other  functions  there 
was  a  religious  service  in  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  which  Washing 
ton  had  attended  and  in  which  his  pew  is  still  preserved 
with  the  national  arms  above  it.  In  this  pew  sat  Harrison, 
with  some  of  his  Cabinet,  and  there  he  listened  to  a 
sermon  from  Bishop  Henry  C.  Potter  that  some  of  us 
thought  was  not  unworthy  of  Isaiah.  He  denounced  with 
great  boldness  all  use  of  public  office  as  a  reward  for 
political  service,  and  advocated  the  principles  of  civil 
service  reform  with  a  cordiality  and  clearness  that  I  hope 
impressed  the  heart  of  the  President.  While  an  observa 
tion  which  was  made  to  me  by  a  Cleveland  Republican 
wrho  knew  Harrison  while  in  the  Senate  was  probably  true, 
viz.,  that  in  that  body  he  had  been  an  inveterate  spoils 
man,  and  while  as  President  he  did  a  great  deal  to  reward 
political  service  with  public  office,  he  made  the  best  judi 
cial  appointments  that  any  President  had  made  for  many 
years. 

In  his  time  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  was  created. 
That  was  one  of  the  important  services  which  Mr.  Evarts 
rendered  to  the  American  public.  Under  the  system, 
created  by  the  first  Judiciary  Act  of  1790,  and  which 
existed  with  few  changes  from  that  time  until  1869,  the 
practice  was  this:  A  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  was 
assigned  to  hold  court  in  each  circuit  once  a  year,  and  a 
District  Judge  sat  with  him  as  a  member  of  the  Circuit 
Court.  To  this  court  appeals  were  taken  from  the  decrees 
of  the  District  Court  in  admiralty  cases.  A  writ  of  error 
would  lie  to  review  a  judgment  of  the  District  Court  in 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893   139 

common  law  cases.  In  cases  originating  in  the  Circuit 
Court  a  motion  for  a  new  trial  or  rehearing  could  be  made 
before  the  full  bench,  composed  of  the  Circuit  Judge  and 
the  District  Judge. 

In  1869  the  urgency  of  business  compelled  the  passage  of 
an  act  for  the  appointment  of  an  additional  Circuit  Judge 
in  each  circuit.  The  District  Judge  had  been  previously 
authorized  to  hold  a  Circuit  Court  in  his  district.  But  by 
the  year  1876  the  force  of  judges  in  the  Federal  courts 
had  become  insufficient  to  transact  the  business  in  many 
of  the  circuits,  particularly  the  second,  in  which  New 
York  City  is  situated.  The  Bar  Association  of  the  City  of 
New  York  in  1877  and  again  in  1882, x  recommended  the 
passage  of  bills  increasing  the  number  of  circuit  judges 
and  authorizing  the  review  in  the  Circuit  Court,  at  a 
general  term  to  be  held  by  three  judges,  of  all  appeals 
from  the  District  Court,  of  writs  of  error  to  the  District 
Court,  and  of  all  motions  for  a  new  trial  or  a  rehearing  in 
the  Circuit  Court. 

We  supposed  that  at  this  time  Mr.  Evarts  was  friendly 
to  this  measure.  He  had  favored  in  the  American  Bar 
Association  another  act  for  the  relief  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
by  which  the  number  of  justices  of  that  court  was  to  be 
increased.  The  court  was  to  sit  in  divisions  and  a  quorum 
of  each  division  might  be  less  than  a  majority  of  the  whole 
court. 2  Mr.  Evarts  became  Senator  in  1885.  He  changed 
his  mind  on  this  subject  and  concluded  that  it  would  be 

1  Charles  O 'Conor  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  recommended 
this  change  in  1877.  I  had  the  honor  to  be  chairman  of  the  committee 
which  acted  in  1882. 

*  Reports,  American  Bar  Association,  vol.  v.,  pp.  19-101. 


140        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

better  to  have  a  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  in  each  circuit, 
composed  of  three  judges,  which  would  be  in  most  cases 
the  final  court  of  appeal.  The  Supreme  Court  was  still 
to  retain  the  right  of  review  in  Constitutional  cases  and 
had  the  right  by  means  of  a  writ  of  certiorari  to  allow  a 
review  of  any  final  judgment  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals. 

The  bill  providing  for  this  new  court  became  a  law, 
March  3,  1891.  President  Harrison's  appointments  to  the 
new  judgeships  were  non-partisan.  They  were  selected, 
as  they  always  ought  to  be,  from  men  who  had  been 
leaders  of  the  Bar,  or  distinguished  on  the  Bench,  even 
though  they  had  been  opposed  to  him  in  politics. 

This  leads  me  to  give  some  account  of  my  campaigning 
experience  in  Maine  in  1888.  William  L.  Putnam,  who  is 
now  Circuit  Judge  of  the  United  States  for  the  first  circuit, 
was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Portland  Bar.  I  met  him  in 
the  course  of  some  litigation  in  which  I  had  been  counsel 
for  clients  residing  in  New  York,  who  had  brought  suit 
against  some  Maine  merchants.  I  went  to  Portland  to 
take  testimony.  Putnam  was  on  the  other  side.  In  the 
canvass  of  1888,  we  were  desirous  of  getting  a  large  vote 
in  Maine.  Putnam  had  been  nominated  for  Governor. 
He  asked  me  to  come  down  and  make  some  speeches  in  his 
behalf,  which  I  did.  The  Maine  Democrats  held  an  open- 
air  meeting  near  Portland  to  which  thousands  came  from 
the  surrounding  country.  The  speakers'  rostrum  was  on 
the  balcony  at  the  gable  of  a  hotel.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  road  was  a  rising  ground  which  made  an  excellent 
amphitheater,  and  the  intervening  space  was  covered  with 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893    141 

people.  Some  of  them  were  in  wagons  in  which  they  had 
driven  in.  There  were  as  many  as  four  thousand  persons 
present.  The  whole  scene  was  lit  up  gaily  with  torches, 
and  the  applause  and  enthusiasm  were  unmeasured. 

Then  I  was  sent  off  to  Bangor,  and,  after  a  meeting 
there,  was  escorted  by  a  torchlight  procession  to  a  meeting 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  It  was  a  triumphal  array. 
If  I  had  been  a  Roman  Emperor  I  could  not  have  been 
greeted  with  more  shouting,  or  a  more  brilliant  display  of 
torches  and  banners.  The  result  of  it  all  was  a  very  good 
vote  for  Putnam.  We  did  not  expect  to  elect  him,  but 
we  were  not  ashamed  of  the  result.  He  himself  was 
prominent  in  the  campaign,  and  spoke  in  many  parts  of 
the  State.  In  short,  he  was  the  leading  Democrat  in 
Maine.  All  this  did  not  prevent  the  President  from 
appointing  him  as  one  of  the  judges  of  that  court  which 
he  has  honored  ever  since. 

I  came  to  know  Harrison  personally  after  he  had 
ceased  to  be  President.  He  was  appointed  member  of  the 
committee  of  the  American  Bar  Association  on  Interna 
tional  Law.  Of  this  committee  I  was  chairman,  and  it 
fell  to  my  lot  to  discuss  with  him  the  subject  of  inter 
national  arbitration.  His  objection  to  it  was  that  arbitra 
tors  would  try  always  to  split  the  difference  between  the 
parties  and  that  they  would  never  decide  a  case  according 
to  strict  law.  He  was  certain  that  this  had  been  the 
action  of  the  special  tribunal  that  heard  the  case  of  the 
disputed  boundary  between  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana. 
He  was  counsel  for  Venezuela.  This  was  before  the 
creation  of  The  Hague  International  Court. 


142       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  first  business  of  President  Harrison  was  to  call  a 
special  session  of  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the 
tariff.  A  new  tariff  bill  was  introduced  by  McKinley  of 
Ohio,  who  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means.  He  announced  as  his  purpose  the  putting  on  the 
free  list  of  all  articles  which  were  not  produced  in  this 
country.  Sugar  was  put  on  the  free  list,  and  a  bounty 
given  to  all  the  producers  of  sugar  grown  within  the  United 
States.  I  remember  being  asked  by  a  Westerner,  who 
was  considering  going  into  the  production  of  beet  sugar, 
whether  I  thought  Congress  would  have  the  Constitu 
tional  right  to  repeal  such  a  bounty.  The  production  of 
beet  sugar  in  this  country  at  that  time  was  in  its  infancy. 
I  advised  him  that  Congress  had  such  a  right.  This  was 
afterwards  exercised. 

The  McKinley  bill  was  constructed  and  passed  by  a 
combination  of  interests,  each  of  which  desired  special 
favors,  and  united  with  those  who  had  other  articles  to  be 
1  'protected,"  as  the  current  phrase  was.  By  this  process 
of  log-rolling,  the  duties  were  put  at  a  rate  far  in  excess 
of  any  rate  necessary  to  equalize  the  difference  between 
the  wages  paid  in  America  and  those  paid  in  foreign 
countries.  That  was  then  the  standard  advocated  by  the 
protectionists.  When  it  came  to  be  put  in  practice,  the 
limit  was  disregarded.  To  test  this,  Senator  Gray,  who 
was  then  Senator  from  Delaware,  and  was  afterwards 
appointed  Judge  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of 
the  third  circuit,  introduced  in  the  Senate  two  amendments 
which  I  had  drawn  to  the  McKinley  bill.  One  of  these 
proposed  to  make  the  maximum  duty,  except  in  cases  of 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893  143 

spirits  and  tobacco,  seventy-five  per  cent.  The  other 
authorized  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  investigate 
the  difference  in  wages  between  foreign  countries  and  the 
United  States,  and  to  reduce  the  rate  of  duty  imposed  by 
the  tariff  to  a  rate  sufficient  to  cover  the  difference.  Both 
of  these  amendments  were  voted  down.  They  were  intro 
duced  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  sincerity  of  the  pro 
tectionist  advocates,  and  they  have  been  afterwards 
referred  to  on  many  a  platform. 

The  McKinley  bill  came  at  an  era  of  reviving  prosperity 
which  had  already  set  in  under  Cleveland's  Administra 
tion.  It  had  the  effect  of  greatly  increasing  the  prices  of 
many  American  manufactured  articles.  This  increase  was 
due  in  part  to  causes  other  than  the  tariff,  but  the  tariff 
did  have  its  part  in  the  result.  That  was  its  designed 
object.  As  one  of  the  franker  Republicans  said :  ''What  is 
the  use  of  a  tariff  if  it  does  not  increase  the  price  of  articles 
we  produce  ? "  So  the  agitation  for  tariff  reform  went  on. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Cleveland  had  gone  back  to  the  Bar 
and  become  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Bangs,  Stetson,  Tracy 
&  MacVeagh.  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  firm 
come  into  the  building,  45  William  Street,  in  which  my  own 
office  was  situated.  There  were  a  great  many  reformers 
in  the  building  at  that  time.  Both  Cleveland  and  Stetson 
could  fairly  be  placed  in  the  front  rank.  Besides  them 
there  were  Thomas  G.  Shearman,  who  was  one  of  our 
leading  free  trade  advocates,  and  myself. 

The  effect  of  the  McKinley  bill,  the  increase  of  prices 
which  followed  it  and  the  thorough  discussion  of  the 
tariff  which  had  been  going  on  throughout  the  Harrison 


144       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Administration,  was  to  give  the  Democrats  a  majority  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  elected  in  1890. 

One  of  the  arguments  that  we  used  in  condemnation  of 
the  bill  was  that  it  had  been  carried  through  the  Senate 
by  the  votes  of  eight  Senators  who  represented  less  than 
one  fifth  of  the  population  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
These  were  from  the  four  new  States  of  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota,  Washington  and  Montana.  No  one  of 
these  States  had  then  population  enough  to  entitle  it  to  a 
single  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  their  eight 
votes  in  the  Senate  were  wanted  for  the  new  tariff,  and 
were  given.  In  order  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill  the 
Republicans  had  seated  two  contestants  from  Montana, 
although  the  votes  as  cast,  the  judgment  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State  and  the  certificate  of  the  Governor 
were  all  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  Senators. 

The  Democrats,  however,  were  not  discouraged.  The 
Reform  Club  gave  a  jubilee  dinner  to  Mr.  Cleveland  at 
the  Madison  Square  Garden  on  the  evening  of  Decem 
ber  23,  1890.  The  front  of  the  galleries  was  festooned 
with  holly.  The  guest  table  occupied  the  western 
end  of  the  hall.  As  President  of  the  Reform  Club,  it  was 
my  honor  to  preside.  On  my  right  was  Grover  Cleveland. 
On  his  right  was  Horace  Boies,  the  Governor  of  Iowa,  the 
representative  of  the  western  political  element  that  had 
wrought  such  a  change  in  the  complexion  of  politics  in  the 
great  Northwest.  On  my  left  was  John  G.  Carlisle,  who 
had  been  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  was  now  in  the  Senate. 
Next  to  him  was  William  E.  Russell  who  had  just  been 
elected  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  had  led  the  re- 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893   145 

formers  to  victory  in  the  old  Bay  State.  William  L. 
Hensel  was  there  from  Pennsylvania,  Tom  Johnson  from 
Ohio  and  William  L.  Wilson  from  West  Virginia.  We 
were  glad  to  have  at  the  guest  table  two  Cleveland  Repub 
licans,  Carl  Schurz  and  Horace  White. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  dinner  the  balconies  and  galleries 
began  to  fill  with  ladies.  When  Mrs.  Cleveland  appeared, 
clad  in  white  satin  with  a  fillet  of  white  about  her  head, 
she  was  received  with  boundless  applause.  Every  man 
rose  to  do  her  honor.  A  great  shout  of  welcome  went 
up  and  was  repeated  again  and  again  until  she  was 
obliged  to  step  to  the  edge  of  the  box  and  bow  her  ac 
knowledgments. 

And  then  I  made  a  short  speech  of  welcome : 

Our  strife,  has  been  with  cupidity,  cowardice  and  credulity. 
The  cupidity  of  those  who,  not  satisfied  with  the  reward  of 
honest  labor  must  needs  seek  the  aid  of  legislation  to  increase 
their  gains, — the  cowardice  of  those  who  have  lost  faith  in 
American  skill  and  energy,  and  fear  to  meet  foreign  com 
petition  on  a  fair  field, — the  credulity  of  those  who  really 
believe  that  the  tariff  is  not  a  tax,  and  that  it  is  possible  to 
make  the  foreigner  pay  the  expenses  of  our  own  Government. 

Then  I  told  the  story  of  the  Reform  Club,  with  its  loyal 
and  unselfish  volunteers  and  cried: 

But  there  is  one  to  whom  these  acknowledgments  are 
especially  due.  The  old  Hebrew  proverb  declares,  "When  the 
tale  of  bricks  is  doubled,  then  comes  Moses."  When  the 
burdens  of  unnecessary  taxation  press  heavily  on  the  American 
farmer  and  workingman,  then  comes  Cleveland. 

At  this  the  whole  audience  rose  and  cheered  and  cheered 
again.  I  added: 

10 


146        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Some  of  the  people  lost  courage  and  wished  the  battle  had 
never  been  begun.  But  our  great  leader  did  not  abate  one  jot 
of  hope.  He  did  not  covet  immediate  success. 

""Some  innative  weakness  there  must  be, 
In  him  who  condescends  to  victory, 
Such  as  the  present  gives,  and  will  not  wait !" 

He  had  that  noble  daring  that  knows  that  the  path  of 
difficulty  and  present  peril  often  is  the  only  one  that  leads  to 
permanent  success.  He  risked  a  Bunker  Hill  in  1888.  Our 
defeat  there  has  given  us  a  Saratoga  in  1 890.  It  insures  for  us  a 
Yorktown  in  1892. 

Cleveland  responded  to  the  toast.  "The  Campaign  of 
Education.  Its  Results  a  Signal  Tribute  to  the  Judgment 
of  the  American  People. "  As  he  rose,  the  enthusiasm  was 
boundless.  It  was  many  minutes  before  the  cheering 
subsided  and  then  he  spoke: 

I  suppose  I  have  a  correct  understanding  of  what  is  meant 
by  "The  Campaign  of  Education."  Assuming  this  to  be  so, 
I  desire,  before  going  further,  to  acknowledge  the  valiant 
service  in  this  campaign  of  the  organization  whose  invitation 
brings  us  together  to-night.  I  may  be  permitted,  I  hope,  to 
make  this  acknowledgment  as  a  citizen  interested  in  all  that 
promises  the  increased  prosperity  of  the  country;  and  I  shall 
also  do  so  as  a  Democrat  who  recognizes  in  the  principle  for 
which  the  campaign  has  thus  far  proceeded  a  cardinal  and 
vital  doctrine  of  Democratic  Creed.  If  I  thus  acknowledge 
the  useful  services  in  the  Democratic  cause  of  any  who  have 
not  claimed  long  affiliation  with  my  party,  I  feel  that  my 
Democratic  allegiance  is  strong  enough  to  survive  such  an 
indulgence  in  fairness  and  decency.  I  am  too,  at  all  times 
willing  that  the  Democratic  party  should  be  enlarged,  and 
as  tending  in  that  direction  I  am  willing  to  accept  and  ac 
knowledge  in  good  faith  honest  help  from  any  quarter  when 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893    147 

the  struggle  is   pending  for  the   supremacy  of  Democratic 
principles.  .   .  . 

Nothing  in  the  whole  speech  throws  more  light  upon  the 
political  history  of  the  time,  than  Mr.  Cleveland's  dis 
cussion  in  a  humorous  way  of  some  of  the  criticisms  that 
had  been  passed  upon  his  tariff  message  of  1887: 

But  even  in  this  unpromising  field  we  are  able  to  report 
progress.  No  one  who  remembers  the  hilarity  with  which  the 
leaders  of  the  Republican  party  greeted  the  message  of  tariff 
reform,  and  the  confidence  with  which  they  prepared  to  meet 
and  crush  the  issue  presented,  can  fail  to  see  how  useful  a 
lesson  has  been  taught  them  in  our  Campaign  of  Education. 

Within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  submission  to  Congress 
of  the  question  of  the  tariff  reform,  sundry  senators  and  repre 
sentatives  belonging  to  the  Republican  party  were  reported  to 
have  jauntily  ventilated  their  partisan  exultation  in  the  public 
press. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  Senator  from  Nebraska  said,  "It  is  a 
big  card  for  the  Republicans,"  this  big  card  cannot  appear 
remarkably  useful  now,  for  his  State  to-day  contains  a  big 
curiosity  in  the  shape  of  a  Democratic  Governor-elect. 

If  the  junior  Senator  from  New  York  (Platt)  declared  that 
his  party  would  carry  this  State  by  the  largest  majority  ever 
known  if  they  could  be  given  the  platform  proposed,  the  reply 
will  come  when  in  a  few  days  a  Democratic  colleague  is  placed 
by  his  side  (Hill). 

If  the  Senator  from  Maine  declared,  "It  is  enough  platform 
for  the  Republicans — we  want  nothing  better, "  how  is  it  that 
he  is  so  diligently  endeavoring  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  the 
word  "Reciprocity?"  .  .  . 

If  a  Senator  from  Wisconsin  gleefully  said  he  was  glad  to  see 
us  "show  our  hand,"  he  cannot  fail  to  be  convinced  when  he 
soon  gives  place  to  a  real  sound  Democrat  (Vilas),  that  there 
was  after  all,  more  in  the  hand  than  he  cared  to  see. 

As  our  campaign  has  proceeded,  other  unusual  symptoms 


148       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

have  been  apparent  among  those  prominent  in  directing  the 
opposition.  Some  of  them  have  become  insubordinate  and  dis 
contented,  and  at  times  actually  disobedient  to  party  orders. 
Some  have  left  the  ship.  One  shrewd  and  weatherwise  navi 
gator  has  clambered  off,  and  in  a  frail  bark  with  the  word 
"Reciprocity"  appended  on  its  front  was  last  seen  hovering 
near  prepared  to  climb  aboard  again  or  sail  away  as  winds  and 
wave  would  appear  to  make  most  safe.  At  the  present  stage 
of  the  campaign  the  unwieldy  party  hulk  of  Bourbon  Republi 
canism  is  still  afloat,  but  damaged  and  badly  leaking.  On 
board,  some  are  still  working  at  the  pumps  against  the  awful 
odds  of  opening  seams;  many  mutinous  and  discontented, 
short  of  provisions  and  of  grog,  are  loudly  and  angrily  disput 
ing  as  to  whether  bad  seamanship  or  overloading  is  the  cause 
of  their  wretched  plight,  while  accusations  of  guilty  responsi 
bility  are  heard  on  every  side.  If  from  this  turbulence,  there 
shall  emerge  any  who,  actually  pricked  in  conscience,  desire  a 
better  life  they  will  be  gladly  welcomed.  .  .  . 

Let  us  not  fail  to  realize  the  fact  that  our  work  is  not  done. 
Our  enemies  are  still  alive  and  have  grown  desperate.  Human 
selfishness  is  not  easily  overcome,  and  the  hope  of  private  gain 
at  the  expense  of  the  masses  of  our  people  is  not  yet  abandoned. 
...  As  the  people  have  trusted  us,  let  us  above  all  things  be 
true  to  them.  Let  the  light  of  our  campaign  be  carried  into 
every  part  of  the  land  where  it  has  not  been  seen,  and  where  it 
has  been  kindled  let  it  keep  brightly  burning,  still  showing  the 
way  to  better  days  for  the  people,  and  disclosing  the  plans  of 
insidious  foes. 

In  years  to  come  when  we  look  back  with  patriotic  satisfac 
tion  upon  our  participation  in  the  glorious  struggle  for  tariff 
reform  and  recall  its  happy  termination,  it  will  delight  us  to 
remember  every  incident  of  discouragement  as  well  as  of 
triumph  in  the  people's  cause.  Then  when  we  are  asked  to 
speak  of  our  proudest  political  endeavor,  and  to  give  the  best 
illustration  of  American  intelligence,  and  to  pay  the  highest 
tribute  to  the  judgment  of  the  American  people  we  will  re 
hearse  the  history  of  the  grand  result  of  "The  Campaign  of 
Education. " 


CLEVELAND  AND  HARRISON,  1885-1893    149 

The  applause  which  greeted  the  conclusion  of  this  speech 
was  as  enthusiastic  as  that  which  welcomed  the  orator  on 
rising.  Then  I  presented  to  Cleveland  on  behalf  of  the 
Reform  Club  and  the  lawyers  of  the  United  States,  in 
recognition  of  his  distinguished  services  in  the  cause  of 
reform,  a  massive  silver  cup.  On  one  side  was  a  represen 
tation  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  mill;  on  the  other  a  repre 
sentation  of  his  residence.  It  was  one  of  a  set  which  was 
made  for  presentation  to  Jefferson  on  behalf  of  the  Jeffer- 
sonian  Democrats  of  his  day.  Jesse  Metcalf  of  Providence 
had  become  its  owner  and  gave  it  to  the  Committee  to 
present  to  Cleveland. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TARIFF  REFORM,    1877-1887 
Unnecessary  taxation  is  unjust  taxation. — Grover  Cleveland. 

ON  the  eighteenth  of  May,  1877,  a  meeting  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Francis  O.  French,  in  New  York  City,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  Free  Trade  Club  in  New  York. 
French  was  a  classmate  of  mine  at  the  Harvard  Law  School. 
He  did  not  long  continue  in  the  practice  of  law,  but  had 
become  a  successful  banker.  At  this  meeting  the  Club  was 
organized.  Mr.  French  was  elected  its  first  president. 
George  Haven  Putnam,  who  was  well  known  as  a  Repub 
lican  free  trader,  was  elected  a  member  July  12,  1877.  The 
same  evening,  I  was  elected  to  membership.  The  Club 
was  incorporated  February  7,  1878.  Mr.  French,  Mr. 
Putnam,  Charles  H.  Marshall,  Mahlon  Sands,  Edward 
Tuck,  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Watson 
R.  Sperry  and  myself  were  among  the  incorporators.  We 
soon  formed  a  class  of  non-resident  members.  Among 
them  were  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  Senator  Bayard, 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Montgomery  Blair,  Francis  W. 
Dawson  (the  editor  of  the  News  and  Courier  of  Charleston, 
S.  C.),  William  Endicott,  Jr.,  Prof.  Henry  W.  Farnam,  my 
old  professor  Wolcott  Gibbs,  Randall  Gibson,  President 

150 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  151 

Gilman,  Frank  H.  Kurd  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  L.  Z.  Leiter  and 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick  of  Chicago,  Hugh  McCullough 
(late  Secretary  of  the  Treasury),  Andrew  McLean  of  the 
Brooklyn  Eagle,  Prof.  A.  L.  Perry  of  Williams  College, 
Prof.  W.  G.  Sumner  of  Yale,  J.  Randolph  Tucker,  Senator 
Vance  of  North  Carolina,  Francis  A.  Walker,  Henry  Wat- 
terson,  David  A.  Wells  and  Prof.  Theodore  S.  Woolsey. 

We  at  once  engaged  in  an  active  campaign  for  tariff 
reform.  We  circulated  pamphlets  in  the  most  promising 
fields,  which  we  thought  to  be  in  the  Western  farming 
districts.  Our  Secretary,  Graham  McAdam,  prepared  a 
clever  pamphlet,  "The  Protective  System — What  It 
Costs  the  American  Farmer."  Of  this  a  newspaper  edi 
tion  was  first  issued,  paged  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only 
for  convenience  of  clipping  and  a  copy  was  sent  to  every 
newspaper  in  the  Western  States,  in  number  four  thousand. 
Many  of  these  reprinted  the  wrhole  pamphlet.  Others 
gave  extracts  or  used  the  material  editorially.  Some 
German  newspapers  printed  a  translation  in  serial  form. 
We  followed  this  newspaper  edition  with  one  for  general 
readers. 

During  the  election  of  1880  an  active  contest  on  the 
tariff  was  carried  on  in  congressional  districts  in  Kansas, 
Minnesota  and  Massachusetts.  We  supported  the  Demo 
cratic  candidates  in  these  districts.  When  the  question 
of  the  Navigation  Laws  was  pending  in  Congress  we 
sent  a  copy  of  Captain  Codman's  tract  on  free  ships  to 
every  member.  We  made  it  part  of  our  business  to  supply 
material  to  those  who  were  debating  the  subject  or  writing 
for  the  newspapers. 


152        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

We  had  for  our  motto  the  Scriptural  phrase,  "The  field 
is  the  world."  We  did  not  advocate  the  repeal  of  the 
tariff.  That  was  not  our  view  of  the  meaning  of  free  trade. 
We  did  advocate  "the  formation  of  a  public  opinion  that 
will  secure  congressional  action  toward  freedom  of  com 
mercial  intercourse.'*  We  declared  in  our  statement  of 
principles : 

That  the  only  tax  on  imports  which  should  ever  be  per 
manently  tolerated  by  a  free  people  is  a  Tariff  for  Revenue 
only. 

That  the  greatest  burden  now  borne  by  the  American  people 
is  the  unjust,  unequal  and  iniquitous  system  of  taxation  called 
a  Protective  Tariff. 

We  therefore  demand  the  immediate  and  gradual  reduction 
of  existing  import  duties,  to  be  steadily  continued  until  every 
feature,  which  gives  a  bounty  to  the  producer  at  the  expense 
of  the  consumer,  is  eliminated. 

In  1883  I  succeeded  Mr.  French  in  the  Presidency  of  the 
Club.  On  November  twenty-second  of  that  year  we  held 
at  the  Cooper  Institute,  New  York  City,  a  public  meeting. 
This  declared  "in  favor  of  an  immediate  reform  in  the 
tariff."  Henry  Ward  Beecher  presided  and  delivered  an 
address.  Addresses  were  also  delivered  by  David  A. 
Wells  and  Henry  A.  Watterson.  The  hall  was  crowded 
and  the  meeting  was  enthusiastic.  The  orators  were 
varied  in  style  and  each  in  his  line  effective.,  Wells  put 
the  argument  clearly  when  he  said: 

Our  power  of  production  is  far  in  excess  of  our  power  of 
consumption  and  we  have  so  far  restricted  the  power  of 
consumption  by  unequal,  unwise  laws  that  we  are  not  far  from 
the  verge  of  great  social  disturbances  likely  to  arise  therefrom. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  153 

This  fight  is  the  people's  fight  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  do  is 
to  awaken  public  interest  fully  concerning  it,  and  the  cause  is 
won. 

Mr.  Beecher  declared  that  the  same  energy  and  the 
same  agitation  which  were  employed  in  the  anti-slavery 
struggle  must  now  be  resorted  to,  "for  this  whole  system 
against  which  we  are  now  protesting  was  like  the  other, 
founded  first  in  mistake,  enlarged  by  deception,  and  at  its 
bottom  lay  the  root  of  all  evil,  selfishness. " 

The  Democrats  carried  the  congressional  election  in 
1882.  When  Congress  met  after  this  election,  President 
Arthur  urged  a  reduction  of  the  tariff,  particularly  on  iron, 
steel,  sugar,  silk  and  cotton  goods,  on  the  ground  that  the 
existing  tariff  was  unjust  and  unequal. 

The  Club  had  succeeded  in  developing  among  the 
manufacturers,  particularly  those  of  New  York,  a  senti 
ment  in  favor  of  tariff  reduction  and  of  free  raw  material. 
This  was  one  of  the  points  that  we  pressed  with  the 
greatest  vigor.  In  February,  1883,  we  promoted  the  call 
ing  of  a  meeting  of  manufacturers  at  Cooper  Union,  to 
consider  the  report  of  the  Tariff  Commission.  This  was 
in  reply  to  a  previous  meeting  in  the  same  place  which 
had  been  organized  by  the  protectionists.  Mr.  Evarts 
had  spoken  at  this  meeting  and  declared  "that  we  have 
no  distinctions  under  our  institutions  except  such  as  each 
man  makes  for  himself."  To  this  I  made  answer  at  the 
manufacturers'  meeting: 

That  is  what  we  all  think  ought  to  be,  but  our  complaint 
against  the  tariff  system  and  the  changes  proposed  by  the 
Tariff  Commission  is  that  it  does  not  follow  the  line  Mr. 


154        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Evarts  laid  out.  The  radical  defect  in  the  tariff  is  that  it  does 
discriminate  in  the  favor  of  one  class  and  against  another 
class. 

I  pointed  out  how  the  imposition  of  a  duty  on  copper 
ore  had  broken  up  a  profitable  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  Chili.  Copper  could  no  longer  be  imported  at  a 
profit,  smelting  works  in  New  York  which  had  smelted 
copper  ore  were  closed,  Chili  bought  of  England  instead 
of  the  United  States;  and  I  quoted  Daniel  Webster's 
famous  question:  "whether  nations  become  prosperous 
in  the  ratio  in  which  their  intercourse  with  each  other  is 
abolished?" 

Thomas  G.  Shearman,  of  Brooklyn,  had  become  one  of 
our  most  effective  supporters.  He  was  a  lawyer  in  large 
practice,  but  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  give  much  time  to  public 
affairs.  He  attributed  his  conversion  to  free  trade  prin 
ciples  to  reading  protectionist  editorials  in  the  New  York 
Tribune.  At  this  meeting  he  pointed  out  how  the  tariff 
discriminated  in  favor  of  raw  materials  at  the  expense  of 
finished  manufactures.  A  letter  which  Abram  S.  Hewitt 
wrote  about  the  same  time  furnished  us  with  most  effective 
material,  and  his  arguments  are  just  as  telling  to-day  as 
they  were  in  1883. 

Localities  in  which  iron  cannot  be  made  cheaply  are  yielding 
to  the  superior  advantages  of  other  regions  in  this  country 
where  the  conditions  of  manufacture  are  more  favorable.  No 
addition  to  the  tariff  can  prevent  this  competition  or  interfere 
with  the  inevitable  result  of  driving  inferior  concerns  out  of 
existence.  The  process  is  disagreeable,  but  it  is  necessary  and 
healthy.  Cheap  food,  cheap  fuel  and  cheap  iron  are  the  essen- 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  155 

tial  elements  of  growth  and  prosperity  in  any  nation,  and 
without  them  no  nation  can  be  great  and  free.  The  interest 
of  the  American  iron  master,  therefore,  is  not  to  devise  methods 
by  which  iron  may  be  made  dear,  but  to  find  out  how  it  may 
be  made  cheap,  and  if  there  be  anywhere  an  unneces 
sary  impediment  to  economy  and  reduction  of  cost,  it  should 
be  promptly  removed.  The  duties  on  iron  and  scrap  iron 
are  purely  obstructive  and  unnecessary  impediments  to  the 
cheapening  of  the  cost  of  iron,  and  they  should  be  at  once 
abolished.  .  .  . 

I  should  be  ashamed  as  an  iron  master^  and  as  a  Representa 
tive  to  ask  the  people  of  this  country  to  indemnify  me  against 
my  folly  or  against  the  inevitable  and  healthy  progress  of  the 
age. 

Among  the  congressional  champions  of  the  free  trade 
cause  two  of  the  most  effective  and  intelligent  were  Mr. 
Hewitt  and  Samuel  S.  Cox.  Cox  was  for  many  years  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Ohio.  He  was  such  a  skillful 
debater  and  parliamentarian  that  the  Republican  party 
in  Ohio  felt  it  necessary  to  get  him  out  of  Congress  and 
accordingly  gerrymandered  his  district  so  that  he  could 
not  be  elected  from  Ohio.  Under  our  American  system 
(which  in  this  respect  is  unlike  that  of  any  other  civilized 
country)  it  is  expected  that  a  member  of  Congress  should 
reside  in  his  district.  The  Constitution  requires  that  he 
should  reside  in  the  State  from  which  he  is  elected,  but 
the  district  system  is  a  matter  of  precedent.  The  Demo 
crats  felt  that  they  could  not  afford  to  lose  Cox  from 
Congress.  One  of  the  best  things  that  Tammany  Hall 
ever  did  was  to  offer  to  nominate  Cox  from  one  of  the 
New  York  districts  if  he  would  come  to  that  city  to  reside. 
Accordingly  he  came  to  New  York,  was  elected  to  Con- 


156       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

gress,  and  served  there  as  a  New  York  member  until  his 
death. 

An  important  accession  to  our  ranks  was  Jacob  Schoen- 
hof.  He  was  a  manufacturer  and  made  a  special  study  of 
the  subject  of  wages,  and  of  the  effectiveness  of  American 
labor.  E.  H.  Van  Ingen,  of  New  York,  was  the  first 
person  who  drew  my  attention  to  this,  and  I  also  made  a 
study  of  it.  Mr.  Schoenhof's  book  on  the  Economy  of  High 
Wages  was  published  about  this  time  and  became  a  text 
book.  We  were  able  to  show  that  two  Republican  mag 
nates  had  taken  the  same  ground  at  a  time  when  the 
relation  of  this  particular  subject  to  the  tariff  was  not 
distinctly  perceived. 

Mr.  Evarts,  May  17,  1879,  transmitted  to  Congress  the 
reports  of  the  American  Consuls  on  the  state  of  labor  in 
Europe,  and  made  this  summary  of  them: 

The  average  American  workman  performs  from  one  and  one 
half  to  twice  as  much  work  as  the  average  European  workman. 
This  is  so  important  a  point  in  connection  with  our  ability  to 
compete  with  the  cheap  manufactures  of  Europe,  and  it  seems 
on  first  thought,  so  strange  that  I  will  trouble  you  with  some 
what  lengthy  quotations  from  the  reports  in  support  thereof. 

Within  the  last  fifteen  years  we  have  demonstrated  our 
ability  by  the  brilliant  development  of  our  own  resources  to 
exclude,  by  honest  competition,  foreign  manufactures,  to  a 
large  extent,  from  our  shores.  The  question  which  now 
peremptorily  challenges  all  thinking  minds  is,  how  to  create 
a  foreign  demand  for  those  which  are  left  after  supplying  our 
home  demands?  We  cannot  stand  still,  for  the  momentum 
of  increase  will  become  so  great  that  it  will  push  it  outward 
anyway.  To  push  us  safely  and  profitably  is  of  so  much  im 
portance  as  to  almost  overtop  all  other  public  questions  of  the 
hour.  This  question  appeals  equally  to  the  selfishness  and 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  157 

patriotism  of  all  our  citizens,  but  to  the  laborer  it  appeals  with 
tenfold  force,  for  without  work  he  cannot  live,  and  unless  we 
can  extend  the  markets  for  our  manufactures  he  cannot  expect 
steady  work,  and  unless  our  manufactures  can  undersell 
foreign  manufactures  we  cannot  enlarge  our  foreign  market. 

The  first  great  truth  to  be  learned  by  our  manufacturers  and 
workingmen  is,  that  the  days  of  sudden  fortunes  and  double 
wages  are  gone.  We  must  realize  the  fact  that  ocean  steam 
communication  has  annihilated  distance,  and  brought  the 
nations  face  to  face.  This  drawing  together  of  the  nations 
means  equalization  in  trade,  profits,  wages,  etc.;  the  advant 
age  being  with  those  who  soonest  accept  the  situation  and 
show  the  most  sensible  continuity  in  the  new  paths  of  success. 

James  G.  Blaine  succeeded  Mr.  Evarts  as  Secretary  of 
State.  In  a  report  made  to  Congress  June  25,  1881,  he 
said: 

Undoubtedly  the  inequalities  in  the  wages  of  English  and 
American  operatives  are  more  than  equalized  by  the  greater 
efficiency  of  the  latter,  and  their  longer  hours  of  labor. 

When  the  Congress,  elected  in  1882,  met  in  December, 
1883,  John  G.  Carlisle  was  elected  Speaker.  William  R. 
Morrison  of  Illinois  became  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee.  A  bill  for  tariff  reform  was  introduced. 

The  New  York  Free  Trade  Club  gave  a  dinner  at  Del- 
monico's  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1884.  The  great 
speech  of  the  evening  was  made  by  Mr.  Carlisle.  He  was 
received  with  enthusiasm.  He  pointed  out  how  in  the  old 
confederacy  each  State  had  the  right  to  levy  duties  on 
products  of  other  States,  and  did  exert  this  power. 

The  framers  of  the  Constitution  believed  that  absolute  free 
trade  between  the  several  States  was  imperatively  demanded 


158        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

by  the  interests  of  the  people.  .  .  .  The  most  ardent  ad 
vocates  of  the  protective  system  will  admit  that  the  wonderful 
growth  and  prosperity  of  this  country  are  attributable  to  this 
provision  more  largely  than  to  any  other  one  thing. 

What  a  different  picture  this  country  presents  from  what  it 
would  have  presented  if  the  policy  of  restriction  and  protec 
tion  had  prevailed  among  the  States  as  it  has  prevailed  for  so 
many  years  between  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries. 

Professor  Sumner  of  Yale  made  an  effective  speech  at 
this  dinner.  He  was  an  athlete  in  appearance  and  in 
argument.  Always  clear  and  logical,  he  struck  straight 
from  the  shoulder.  His  subject  that  evening  was:  "The 
Fallacies  of  Legislation. "  One  of  the  best  points  he  made 
was  this: 

Every  time  we  have  an  inquest  at  Washington  I  always 
think  of  the  witnesses  who  never  appear.  Let  us  suppose  that 
some  of  your  grave  gentlemen  of  Washington  are  assembled 
in  Committee  to  consider  the  interest  of  the  wool  man  and 
the  iron  man  and  the  glass  man  and  all  the  rest  of  them,  and 
in  comes  a  seedy  looking  man  who  says,  "I  am  a  school 
master ;  I  learned  to  teach  Greek ;  Greek  is  going  out  of  fashion ; 
boys  don't  want  to  learn  Greek  any  more,  and  that  is  what  I 
learned  to  teach.  And  now  I  can't  support  my  family — I 
can't  support  the  horse  car  or  any  of  the  great  industries  of 
the  country.  Now  I  want  you  to  put  me  in  the  bill  that  you 
are  preparing  for  the  relief  of  all  the  people.  I  want  you  to 
put  in  a  clause  providing  that  neither  the  lawyer  nor  the 
doctor  nor  any  other  professional  man  can  pass  his  examina 
tion  unless  he  learns  Greek.  Then  they  will  all  come  to  me, 
and  I  will  become  rich  and  can  support  the  horse  cars  and  all 
the  other  institutions  of  the  country."  I  suppose  they  would 
laugh  at  the  poor  fellow,  and  say,  "He  has  got  very  few  votes." 

Now  the  door  opens  and  there  comes  in  another  man; 
another  of  those  witnesses  who  never  appear,  but  the  grandest 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  159 

witness  of  all.  He  is  seedy  too.  He  looks  as  if  he  had  worked 
hard  and  been  poor  all  his  life,  and  he  says:  "Gentlemen,  I 
never  came  before  this  Committee  before,  but  I  thought  I 
would  come  down  to  see  you.  I  have  been  reading  Horace 
Greeley's  words,  wherein  he  proves  that  you  have  been  doing 
all  these  things  on  my  account.  I  am  a  farmer.  I  am  told 
that  if  I  help  to  increase  the  price  of  a  yard  of  cloth,  the  cloth- 
man  will  come  to  me  and  buy  two  bushels  of  wheat  instead 
of  one.  Now,  the  more  I  think  of  it  the  more  I  believe  that  I 
give  two  bushels  of  wheat  for  one  yard  of  cloth !  I've  made  up 
my  mind  that  anything  that  anybody  gets  comes  out  of  some 
body  else,  and  I've  begun  to  think  that  I'm  the  somebody 
else!" 

One  of  the  most  effective  allies  in  the  West  was  the 
Iroquois  Club  of  Chicago.  Senator  Bayard  spoke  at  their 
annual  banquet  in  April,  1883;  in  1884  they  had  another 
at  which  I  made  an  address  in  which  I  insisted  upon  the 
effectiveness  of  the  American  workman  and  showed  that 
his  larger  wages  were  due  to  the  greater  effectiveness  of 
his  work.  The  protectionists  had  published  lurid  accounts 
of  the  distress  that  prevailed  among  the  men  and  women 
that  made  nails  in  the  black  country  in  England  and 
argued  that  this  distress  was  caused  by  free  trade.  I 
showed  that  those  people  worked  by  hand  and  that  it 
cost  more,  even  at  their  low  wages,  to  produce  a  pound  of 
nails  in  England  than  it  did  to  produce  a  similar  pound  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  nails  were  made  by  machinery. 

Tammany  Hall  came  to  the  support  of  the  good  cause. 
In  March,  1884,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Wigwam  and 
the  passage  of  the  Morrison  Bill,  which  was  then  pending 
in  Congress,  was  earnestly  recommended. 

Notwithstanding  these   efforts  we  could  not  pass  the 


160       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

bill.  The  vote  was  taken  in  the  House  on  the  sixth  of 
May,  1884.  Mr.  Converse  moved  to  strike  out  the  enact 
ing  clause  and  the  motion  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  156  to 
151.  Forty-one  Democrats  voted  with  Mr.  Randall  in 
the  majority;  of  these  12  were  from  Pennsylvania,  10 
from  Ohio  and  6  from  New  York. 

During  1884  tariff  reformers  were  active  throughout  the 
United  States.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  April,  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Tariff  Reform  League  was  organized.  The 
object  of  the  League  was  to  enforce  the  following  views: 

1.  The  present  enormous  surplus  in  the  national  revenues 
above  the  public  requirements  is  demoralizing  and  dangerous, 
and  should  be  cut  down  by  removing  the  burden  of  taxation 
from  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  not  from  whisky  and  tobacco. 

2.  The  policy  of  taxing  imports,  not  for  revenue,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  obstructing  trade,  is  unsound,  and  well  con 
sidered  but  decisive  action  looking  to  its  ultimate  abandonment 
should  not  longer  be  deferred. 

Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  was  elected  President. 
Among  the  Vice-Presidents  were  Henry  L.  Pierce,  Leverett 
Saltonstall,  William  Endicott,  Jr.,  Charles  R.  Codman  and 
Patrick  A.  Collins.  Henry  Lee  (who  gave  the  statue  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  to  the  city  of  Boston  which  now 
stands  on  Commonwealth  Avenue)  was  the  Treasurer. 
This  League  did  excellent  work  in  Massachusetts. 

In  June,  reformers  from  all  parts  of  the  State  of  New 
York  organized  a  New  York  State  Revenue  Reform 
League.  It  declared: 

That  the  only  tax  on  imports  which  should  ever  be  tolerated 
by  a  free  people,  is  a  tariff  for  revenue  only. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  161 

That  the  greatest  burden  now  borne  by  the  American 
people  is  the  unjust  and  unequal  system  of  taxation  called  a 
protective  tariff.  This  tariff  levied  upon  nearly  four  thousand 
articles  is  a  masterpiece  of  injustice,  inequality  and  false 
pretense.  By  seriously  injuring  many  industries,  it  has  re 
duced  the  wages  of  labor,  while  increasing  the  cost  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  It  has  degraded  American  commerce  from 
the  first  to  an  inferior  rank  on  the  high  seas.  It  has  cut  down 
the  scale  of  American  manufacture  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
depleted  the  returns  of  American  agriculture — an  industry 
followed  by  half  our  people.  It  costs  the  people  five  times 
more  than  it  produces  to  the  Treasury,  obstructs  the  processes 
of  production,  wastes  the  fruits  of  labor,  promotes  fraud  and 
fosters  the  growth  of  monopolies. 

By  this  time  the  Republicans  had  nominated  for  Presi 
dent,  James  G.  Elaine.  The  first  protest  was  in  Boston  on 
the  8th  of  June.  The  Massachusetts  Reform  Club  had 
a  full  meeting  that  day.  Many  old  Republicans  were 
present.  Among  them  were  T.  Wentworth  Higginson, 
Archibald  M.  Howe,  Richard  H.  Dana,  William  Everett 
and  Moorfield  Storey.  The  Christian  ministry  was 
represented  by  Rev.  James  Freeman  Clarke.  The  Club 
passed  the  following  vote: 

That  the  Massachusetts  Reform  Club  regards  the  nomina 
tion  of  Messrs.  Elaine  and  Logan  by  the  Republican  party  as  a 
distinct  and  unqualified  repudiation  of  all  its  professions  of 
reform  and  as  an  insult  to  the  conscience  of  the  country,  and 
that  the  members  of  the  Club  will  under  no  circumstances 
support  them. 

When  the  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Chicago  on 
the  sixteenth  of  July,  it  was  understood  that  the  cam 
paign  would  largely  be  one  of  personal  fitness  and  honest 


162        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

administration.  Nevertheless,  the  Democratic  platform, 
which  was  reported  by  William  R.  Morrison,  declared  in 
the  words  of  Grover  Cleveland : 

"Unnecessary  taxation  is  unjust  taxation."  We  denounce 
the  Republican  party  for  having  failed  to  relieve  the  people 
from  crushing  war  taxes  which  have  paralyzed  business, 
crippled  industry,  and  deprived  labor  of  employment  and  of 
just  reward. 


All  taxation  should  be  limited  to  the  requirements  of  eco 
nomical  government.  The  necessary  reduction  in  taxation  can, 
and  must,  be  effected  without  depriving  American  labor  of  the 
ability  to  compete  successfully  with  foreign  labor,  and  without 
imposing  lower  rates  of  duty  than  will  be  able  to  cover  any 
increased  cost  of  production  which  may  exist  in  consequence 
of  the  higher  rate  of  wages  prevailing  in  this  country. 

Sufficient  revenue  to  pay  all  the  expenses  of  the  federal 
government,  economically  administered,  including  pensions, 
interest  and  principal  of  the  public  debt,  can  be  got,  under  the 
present  system  of  taxation,  from  custom  house  taxes  on  fewer 
imported  articles,  bearing  heaviest  on  articles  of  luxury,  and 
bearing  lightest  on  articles  of  necessity. 

The  Republican  plank  on  the  difference  in  the  cost  of 
production  which  was  promulgated  in  1908  was  a  repeti 
tion  of  this  Democratic  plank  of  1884.  Thus  parties 
progress. 

iThe  presidential  campaign  of  1884  was  a  campaign 
upon  the  personal  merits  of  the  two  candidates^  Never 
theless  the  tariff  reformers  did  all  in  their  power  to 
enlighten  the  American  people  on  this  subject.  As  usual 
David  A.  Wells  was  our  most  logical  advocate.  His 
homely  illustrations  were  always  telling.  In  an  open 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  163 

letter  to  Senator  Hoar,  published  on  the  29th  of  August, 
he  put  clearly  the  argument  that  we  were  presenting  all 
over  the  country,  that  the  duty  on  the  materials  which 
enter  into  the  construction  of  our  finished  products  so 
much  enhanced  their  price  that  it  prevented  our  manu 
factures  from  getting  a  foreign  market.  An  immediate 
controversy  turned  on  a  statement  by  President  Eliot, 
that  a  desirable  market  "for  American  carriages  in  Aus 
tralia  had  been  lost  or  impaired  by  reason  of  the  tariff 
taxation  imposed  upon  the  constituent  materials  which 
enter  into  the  construction  of  carriages." 

Senator  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  answered  with  the 
usual  protectionist  argument  that  a  drawback  is  allowed 
which  makes  amends  to  the  manufacturer  for  the  duty 
paid  on  his  material.  To  this  Wells  replied  that  this 
drawback,  where  it  was  beneficial  to  the  manufacturer, 
worked  to  the  detriment  of  the  American  people.  The 
Brooklyn  Cordage  Company,  which  made  cordage  ex 
clusively  of  imported  hemp,  was  thus  enabled  to  export 
cordage  to  China,  India  and  Brazil  and  sell  there  in  com 
petition  with  the  world  at  a  much  less  price  than  it  could 
sell  in  America,  because  here  it  had  to  pay  a  duty  of  $25  a 
ton  on  hemp.  He  then  added: 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  American  manufacturer 
produces  a  complex  product,  into  which  many  articles  of 
different  nature  and  origin,  some  foreign  and  some  domestic, 
enter — as  in  the  case  of  carriages — it  is  almost  impossible  for 
him,  unless  he  imports  direct,  which  few  do,  to  obtain  any 
drawback  whatever,  because  of  his  inability  to  make  oath  as 
to  the  exact  origin  and  cost  of  the  different  materials  which 
have  been  incorporated  into  the  finished  product,  and  which 


164       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

he  desires  to  export,  and  hence  it  is,  that  the  now  boasted 
drawback  provision  has  become  so  far  a  nullity  that  out  of  a 
customs  revenue  in  1883  of  $210,000,000,  only  some  $2,000,000 
were  returned  as  drawbacks;  and  only  an  almost  infinitesimal 
part  of  this  latter  sum  was  drawback  on  imported  materials 
entering  into  goods  composed  of  a  variety  of  material  of  both 
foreign  and  domestic  origin,  such  for  example  as  carriages.  I 
submitted  this  point  to  one  of  the  largest  exporters  of  American 
manufactures, — for  I  desire  to  say  right  here,  that  I  have  not 
ventured  to  give  this  letter  to  the  public  in  the  midst  of  a 
political  campaign  without  previously  consulting  some  of  the 
best  manufacturers  of  New  York  and  New  England, — and 
here  is  what  one  of  them  writes : 

"I  know  of  no  manufacturer  of  any  merchandise,  that  con 
sists  of  a  variety  of  materials,  foreign  and  domestic,  who 
attempts  to  get  a  drawback  of  duties,  on  such  of  his  goods  as 
he  sends  to  foreign  markets.  They  cannot  so  swear  to  the 
foreign  origin  of  their  material,  unless  they  import  it  them 
selves,  and  this  few  do. 

The  Democrats  carried  the  election.  Grover  Cleveland 
was  inaugurated  March  4,  1885,  and  Daniel  Manning,  of 
Albany,  New  York,  became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
The  campaign  for  tariff  reform  continued  vigorously.  In 
July,  1885,  Mr.  Manning  sent  a  circular  to  manufacturers 
asking  for  information  as  to  the  relative  cost  of  manu 
facture  of  the  same  article  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe: 

Particularly  with  regard  to  the  cost  of  labor  as  affected  by 
the  rate  of  wages  paid  in  the  different  countries.  State  how 
much  the  cost  of  the  given  unit  of  production  has  increased 
in  the  United  States  as  compared  with  European  countries  by 
reason  of  the  difference  in  wages  paid  and  the  rate  of  interest  on 
capital  employed. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  165 

In  October,  1885,  a  Connecticut  Tariff  Reform  League 
was  organized  in  New  Haven.  J.  B.  Sargent,  the  great 
hardware  manufacturer  of  New  Haven,  became  President, 
and  James  L.  Cowles,  of  Farmington,  its  Secretary.  David 
A.  Wells,  Professor  Farnam,  Mr.  Sargent  and  Aretas  W. 
Thomas,  a  manufacturer  of  Waterbury,  were  with  others 
appointed  delegates  to  a  National  Tariff  Reform  Conven 
tion  to  be  held  in  Chicago. 

This  convention,  assembled  in  November,  1885,  was 
largely  attended  and  produced  a  profound  impression. 
David  A.  Wells  was  elected  President  of  the  National 
League  which  was  formed.  Thomas  G.  Shearman  was 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  R.  R.  Bowker, 
Chairman  of  the  National  Committee.  He  became  Secre 
tary  of  the  League.  Rowland  Hazard  of  Peacedale,  R.  I., 
wrote  an  important  paper,  in  which  he  maintained  the 
proposition,  which  I  have  often  heard  him  discuss,  that  a 
high  tariff  on  wool  does  not  benefit  the  wool  grower.  The 
principle  which  I  heard  that  leader  in  wool  growing,  my 
grandfather,  William  Jarvis,  maintain,  that  whatever  is 
good  for  the  manufacturer  of  wool  is  good  for  the  grower 
of  wool,  who  supplies  him  with  his  material,  is  fundamental. 
As  Mr.  Hazard  pointed  out: 

The  tariff  of  1867  was  passed  to  encourage  wool  growing  and 
to  foster  wool  manufacturing.  Its  terms  were  settled  by  a 
convention  of  wool  growers  and  wool  manufacturers.  It  was 
expected  to  raise  the  price  of  wool  and  the  price  of  goods  and 
it  was  particularly  expected  to  increase  the  growth  of  wool. 
None  of  those  results  followed  the  enactment  of  this  tariff .  .  .  . 
Under  the  fostering  care  of  the  tariff,  production  of  wool  in  the 
United  States  absolutely  declined,  or  did  not  increase  for  six 


166        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

years.    The  country  grew  and  expanded  in  all  other  directions, 
but  its  wool  industry  stood  still. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  connection  with  this 
Chicago  convention  at  Central  Music  Hall,  which  was 
filled  to  overflowing.  David  A.  Wells  expressed  his 
subject — "Free  trade  rational  and  practical.  Protection 
irrational  and  mischievous."  Perhaps  the  most  effective 
statement  in  his  address  was  his  reply  to  Governor  Long: 

The  fallacy  of  the  claim  of  ex-Governor  Long  that  to  protec 
tion  nearly  all  our  great  branches  of  domestic  industry  owe 
their  existence  is  proved  by  the  existing  condition  of  the  ship 
building  and  ship  owning  interests  and  the  business  of  wool 
growing  and  wool  manufacturing,  both  of  which  have  been 
protected  till  they  are  now  nigh  unto  death's  door.  The  flag 
of  our  mercantile  marine  has  almost  vanished  from  the  ocean. 

When  Mr.  Beecher  arose  he  was  greeted  with  applause. 
He  was  our  most  effective  orator.  The  statue  in  front  of 
the  Brooklyn  City  Hall  is  a  good  portrait  statue,  but  it 
lacks  the  life  which  St.  Gaudens  put  into  the  Farragut 
that  stands  in  Madison  Square.  If  the  observer  has 
imagination  enough  to  see  that  figure  of  bronze  inspired 
with  life,  speaking  with  animation,  using  frequent  and 
graceful  gestures,  with  melodious  voice  of  great  compass, 
penetrating  to  the  farthest  portion  of  the  hall  and  heard  as 
distinctly  there  as  in  front  of  the  platform,  he  can  form 
some  impression  of  the  great  orator  who  pleaded  the 
cause  of  free  trade.  Doctor  Lyman  Abbott  likens  his 
oratory  to  that  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  I  agree  that  as 
Webster  was  the  greatest  American  orator  of  his  genera 
tion,  Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  in  his. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  167 

Liberty  [he  said]  has  advanced  from  liberty  of  thought  to 
liberty  of  speech,  and  thus  must  lead  to  liberty  of  action.  Our 
liberty  of  speech  in  favor  of  the  removal  of  obstacles  to  com 
merce  will  lead  to  action  and  that  will  eventually  succeed. 
Protection  is  the  jugglery  of  the  devil.  If  politicians  were 
statesmen,  protection  would  die  a  natural  death  in  spite  of  the 
devil.  But  politicians  are  not  statesmen.  They  are  vote- 
mongers.  When  Mr.  Seward  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  rang 
his  little  bell  and  ordered  this  man  to  be  imprisoned  and  that 
newspaper  to  be  suppressed,  it,  was  said  that  such  was  the 
necessity  of  war.  I  thought  so,  at  the  time,  but  I  have  come  to 
believe  that  no  country  is  less  fitted  for  a  paternal  government. 
As  the  Secretary  of  the  National  Labor  Organization  has  said : 
"A  paternal  government  is  an  infernal  government. " 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  his  report  of  Decem 
ber,  1885,  pointed  out  in  vigorous  language  the  inequality 
and  injustice  of  the  existing  tariff,  and  especially  of  the 
taxes  on  raw  materials,  which  subjected  them  to  a  hopeless 
competition  with  other  manufacturing  nations,  none  of 
which  tax  raw  materials.  The  arguments  of  tariff  reformers 
have  been  effective  on  this  point.  The  McKinley  and 
Dingley  tariffs  both  removed  many  of  the  duties  on  raw 
material  which  existed  in  1884,  and  enlarged  the  free  list. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1885,  William  R. 
Morrison  of  Illinois,  who  had  been  one  of  the  delegates  at 
large  from  that  State  to  the  Democratic  National  Con 
vention,  was  again  appointed  by  Mr.  Carlisle,  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means.  This  Committee 
introduced  its  bill  on  the  fifteenth  of  February,  1886.  It 
proposed  a  large  extension  of  the  free  list,  and  a  substantial 
reduction  of  the  duty  on  lumber,  cotton  and  metals.  It 
took  off  twenty  per  cent,  from  the  duties  imposed  on  sugar, 


168       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

"inoperative  as  to  sugars  from  countries  laying  export 
duties,"  and  made  a  substantial  reduction  in  duties  on 
wool  and  woolens.  But  the  Democratic  majority  in  the 
House  was  small  and  there  were  enough  protectionist 
Democrats  to  defeat  the  bill,  notwithstanding  the  party 
pledges  and  the  recommendation  of  the  President  and 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  On  the  seventeenth  of  June, 
Morrison  moved  that  the  House  go  into  Committee  of 
the  Whole  on  the  revenue  bill.  On  this  motion  he  de 
manded  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  McKinley,  on  behalf  of 
the  opponents  of  the  bill,  joined  in  the  demand.  The 
motion  was  lost,  yeas  140,  nays  157.  Four  Republicans, 
Darwin  R.  James,  of  New  York,  and  three  from  Minnesota, 
voted  for  the  motion.  Thirty-four  Democrats  voted 
against  it.  Among  those  were  Randall  of  Pennsylvania, 
General  Viele  and  Tim  Campbell  of  New  York.  Among 
the  ayes  was  the  speaker;  also  Perry  Belmont  of  New  York 
and  the  two  Breckinridges,  one  from  Arkansas  and  one 
from  Kentucky.  They  were  both  staunch  tariff  reformers 
and  eloquent  advocates  of  the  good  cause.  Crisp,  of 
Georgia,  who  was  afterwards  to  become  Speaker,  also 
voted  in  the  affirmative.  Notwithstanding  the  arguments 
of  the  Free  Trade  Club  and  the  Tariff  Reform  League,  the 
politicians  of  New  York  were  too  much  for  us  and  the 
majority  of  the  New  York  delegation  were  against  the  bill. 
Mr.  Hewitt  made  the  following  statement  for  the  press: 

v  I  am  thoroughly  indignant  at  the  result,  though  I  expected 
it.  The  motion  was  only  to  consider  a  tariff  bill,  not  to  pass 
one.  It  was  subject  to  amendment.  The  refusal  of  Demo 
crats  to  vote  for  its  consideration  was  a  gross  violation  of  their 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  169 

own  pledges  and  repeated  pledges  of  their  party.  The  vote  is  a 
repudiation  of  pledges  given  by  both  parties  that  the  tariff 
question  should  be  settled.  The  issue  presented  was  not  the 
tariff  bill,  but  whether  we  could  consider  the  tariff  at  all.  So 
far  as  the  Republicans  were  concerned  they  were  united  prac 
tically  in  their  opposition  to  consideration,  showing  that  their 
platform  was  a  case  of  false  pretenses.  On  the  other  hand  the 
large  majority  of  Democrats  are  ready  to  fulfil  the  pledge  of 
the  Chicago  platform.  The  bill,  if  considered,  would  have 
been  open  for  amendment,  and  every  Representative  would 
have  been  free  to  oppose  any  provision  that  was  objectionable 
to  him.  So  far,  therefore,  as  Democrats  voted  against  con 
sideration  of  the  bill,  they,  equally  with  the  Republicans,  were 
untrue  to  the  pledge  of  their  party,  and  the  responsibility 
must  rest  upon  them  to  be  settled  with  their  constituents. 

The  tariff  reformers  were  not  discouraged.  We  realized 
that  a  country  that  had  been  fed  with  the  plausible 
protectionist  argument  for  so  many  years  was  not  to  be 
speedily  converted.  We  kept  at  work  and  began  our 
preparations  for  the  congressional  campaign  of  1886.  In 
August  the  Tariff  Reform  League  had  an  important 
conference  in  New  York  City  and  adopted  two  resolutions 
which  I  quote,  because,  unlike  some  resolutions,  they 
express  what  we'  actually  did  after  they  were  made: 

RESOLVED,  That  we  urge  all  revenue  reformers,  whether 
looking  to  the  formation  of  a  new  party  or  the  final  triumph  of 
their  cause  through  one  of  the  existing  parties,  to  concentrate 
their  present  force  upon  the  election  of  Congressmen,  the 
necessary  first  step  in  either  direction.  We  advise  therefore 
(i)  the  election  of  avowed  tariff  reformers,  where  possible, 
whatever  their  party  name;  (2)  independent  organization  and 
a  conscience  vote  for  a  third  candidate;  (3)  the  ''scratching" 
of  protectionist  candidates  where  positive  action  is  imprac 
ticable  and  the  use  of  all  honorable  means  to  deter  others 


170       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

from  a  protectionist  vote,  according  as  one  or  the  other  course 
of  action  commends  itself  to  the  free-traders  of  the  district 
concerned. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  appeal  to  our  representatives  in  the 
present  Congress  to  present  and  insist  upon  the  consideration, 
during  the  short  session,  of  separate  and  successive  bills  to 
remove  the  tax  upon  the  respective  materials  which  are  the 
food  of  great  industries  and  reduce  the  duties  upon  the  pro 
ducts  of  those  materials — expressing  our  willingness  to  abide 
by  the  results  of  the  removal  of  the  duties  on  such  staples  as 
pig-iron  and  wool,  as  the  best  evidence  in  regard  to  further 
steps  toward  freedom  of  trade. 

Mr.  Wells  was  still  President  of  the  League.  Thomas  G. 
Shearman  had  become  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Com 
mittee  and  H.  J.  Philpott  was  our  Western  Secretary  at 
Des  Moines.  He  published  there  a  newspaper  which  he 
called  the  Million,  which  was  the  national  organ  of  our 
cause,  and  which  was  widely  circulated  with  good  effect. 
My  own  judgment  in  the  matter  was  expressed  in  a  state 
ment  which  I  gave  in  August  to  the  New  York  Star: 

It  is  certainly  in  our  power  to  settle  this  great  question,  now 
and  forever.  There  are  over  fifty  congressional  districts  where 
a  change  from  100  to  500  votes  will  turn  the  scales  either  way. 
We  can  easily  hold  our  own  in  those  districts  which  already 
belong  to  us,  and  by  carrying  a  few  only  of  the  others,  we  shall 
have  a  majority  in  the  House. 

One  of  the  favorite  arguments  of  the  protectionist 
Democrats  at  this  time,  of  whom  the  New  York  Sun  was 
perhaps  the  leading  organ,  was  that  the  internal  revenue 
taxes  should  be  reduced  or  repealed  before  any  reduction 
was  made  in  the  tariff.  Mr.  Carlisle,  in  the  course  of  the 
campaign,  made  this  terse  reply: 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  171 

Reduction  will  come  upon  the  tariff  and  not  upon  internal 
revenue,  for  it  is  plain  to  my  mind  that  no  political  party  of 
this  country  can  afford  to  take  the  position  that  whisky  and 
tobacco  and  beer  shall  be  free  while  a  tax  remains  upon  the 
people's  clothing  and  implements  of  trade.  People  won't 
stand  for  it. 


During  the  congressional  campaign  of  1886  there  were 
effective  reform  organizations  in  Massachusetts,  Connec 
ticut,  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  We  kept  in  touch  with 
the  labor  unions,  promoted  the  passage  of  resolutions  by 
them  in  favor  of  free  raw  materials,  and  offered  "to  every 
labor  organization  which  will  circulate  the  books  a  working 
man's  economic  library,  which  will  show  them  the  de 
sirability  of  revenue  reform  and  help  to  true  views  of  the 
labor  question."  [At  this  time  the  official  ballot  had  not 
been  adopted  in  this  country.  Every  organization  that 
wished  to  put  a  ticket  before  the  people  had  to  print  its 
own  ballots.  This  was  a  burden  upon  their  treasury.  But 
it  had  one  advantage  as  compared  with  the  system  of  an 
official  party  column  that  has  been  adopted  in  most  of  our 
States,  which  enables  a  voter  to  vote  a  straight  ticket  by 
marking  under  the  party  emblem.  It  was  much  easier  for 
an  independent  voter  to  make  up  his  ticket  at  home,  and 
then  take  to  the  polls  what  was  known  as  the  "vest 
pocket  vote, "  than  it  is  now  where  all  the  splitting  has  to 
be  done  in  the  booth?] 

One  of  the  friends  whose  letters  were  most  helpful  in 
the  campaign  was  J.  S.  Moore,  the  so-called  "Parsee 
merchant."  He  had  been  in  the  East  India  trade,  had 
studied  the  tariff  thoroughly,  and  there  was  no  man  who 


172        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

put  the  argument  more  practically  than  he.  His  letters 
were  published  in  the  New  York  Times  and  were  widely 
circulated. 

Our  Free  Trade  Club  made  a  vigorous  opposition  to 
those  New  York  Democrats  who  had  voted  against  the 
Morrison  bill  and  succeeded  in  defeating  some  of  them. 
In  Massachusetts  the  tariff  reformers  elected  from  the 
Worcester  district  John  E.  Russell.  He  was  a  man  of 
ability  and  convictions  and  had  the  courage  of  his  con 
victions.  In  that  great  manufacturing  district  he  pleaded 
successfully  the  cause  of  free  raw  materials.  Charles  R. 
Codman  was  one  of  our  eloquent  and  effective  speakers 
there.  "It  is  this  internal  free  trade,"  he  said,  "that 
stimulates  production  and  raises  wages,  and  yet  the  home 
market,  great  as  it  is,  has  proved  itself  insufficient  for  the 
unbounded  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  American  people." 
He  argued  that  the  cost  of  production  should  be  diminished 
by  putting  materials  of  manufacture  on  the  free  list.  He 
showed  the  absurdity  of  the  duty  on  lumber;  that  its 
direct  effect  was  to  hasten  the  removal  of  forests  which 
were  needed  to  preserve  the  fertility  of  the  land  and  the 
flow  of  rivers.  He  pointed  out  that  the  artificial  condition 
of  American  industry  caused  by  the  tariff,  produced 
alternately  overproduction  and  the  closing  of  factories, 
the  reduction  of  wages,  lockouts  and  strikes. 

There  is  a  perilous  strain  to-day  in  the  relations  between 
capital  and  labor.  Never  in  our  history  have  industrial  condi 
tions  been  so  disturbed.  Never  have  there  been  such  alarming 
contests  between  employer  and  employed.  Does  any  reason 
able  man  suppose  that  these  constantly  recurring  disturbances 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  173 

are  the  results  of  a  blind  chance  and  not  of  unjust  and  oppres 
sive  laws  ?  Sooner  or  later  the  American  people  will  take  this 
matter  in  hand,  will  put  an  end  to  a  system  of  taxation  which 
neutralizes  all  their  great  natural  advantages,  whether  of 
climate  or  soil  or  intelligence  or  enterprise. 

In  Massachusetts  we  had  the  support  of  President  Eliot. 
In  a  letter  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Independents  in  Octo 
ber,  1886,  he  said:  "I  propose  to  vote  the  Democratic 
ticket  as  I  have  done  ever  since  the  Republican  party 
nominated  Mr.  Elaine  for  President,  and  made  a  main 
issue  of  the  policy  miscalled  protection";  and  added 
finally: 

I  am  an  independent  still.  That  is,  a  citizen  who  looks 
upon  the  political  party  solely  as  a  means  of  promoting  public 
principles  and  who  will  therefore  act  with  any  party  only  so  long 
as  it  seems  to  promote  those  principles  in  which  he  believes. 

One  of  the  most  effective  meetings  in  New  York  was 
held  in  the  Stewart  Building  on  the  thirteenth  of  October, 
1886.  John  B.  Sargent  presided.  In  the  list  of  those  that 
were  present  I  note  the  names  of  Ellery  Anderson,  William 
Dorsheimer,  who  was  doing  good  service  for  us  in  the 
New  York  Star,  and  who  had  been  Lieutenant- Governor 
of  the  State,  Orlando  B.  Potter,  who  afterwards  became 
an  effective  member  of  Congress  from  New  York,  Anson 
Phelps  Stokes,  J.  M.  Constable,  Gustav  Schwab,  J.  S. 
Moore,  Charles  H.  Marshall  and  E.  H.  Van  Ingen.  Isidor 
Straus  was  conspicuous  with  his  tall,  slim  figure  and  keen 
glance.  He  afterwards  became  a  most  useful  member  of 
Congress  from  New  York  City  and  in  1912  went  down 
bravely  with  the  Titanic,  showing  the  same  cheerful 


174       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

courage  then  that  he  manifested  throughout  his  long  and 
useful  life.  I  can  never  forget  the  merry  twinkle  in  his 
eye,  nor  the  patient  resolution  which  never  shrank  from 
the  hardest  task.  E.  L.  Godkin  was  there  from  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  Thomas  G.  Shearman  and  myself  with 
many  others  represented  the  Bar.  Abram  S.  Hewitt 
made  some  personal  references  to  his  own  work  which 
ought  to  be  preserved: 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress  I  found  myself  appar 
ently  unable  to  do  the  work  I  wanted  to  do,  and  I  reluctantly 
made  up  my  mind  to  retire  from  Congress,  and  leave  to  younger 
and  abler  men  the  task  of  fighting  this  battle.  But  when  I 
recollected  that  in  the  next  Congress  this  question  must  come 
to  an  issue — for  it  cannot  be  postponed  any  longer — it  seemed 
to  me  that  every  man  who  had  studied  the  subject,  and  who 
was  primed,  so  to  speak,  with  the  necessity  of  reform,  ought 
to  be  on  hand  and  on  guard,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go 
back  to  Congress,  to  make  a  final  effort,  and  to  die,  if  necessary, 
in  the  struggle  for  that  which  I  feel  necessary  for  the  welfare 
of  this  country.  But  one  man  can  do  but  little.  If  New  York 
had  but  seven  men  in  the  House  as  determined  as  I  am,  the 
voice  of  New  York  would  not  have  been  silenced  as  it  was  in  the 
last  Congress.  I  tell  you,  business  men  of  New  York,  you 
want  seven,  live,  earnest,  intelligent  men  in  Congress,  and  I 
would  not  allow  those  political  parties  to  nominate  any  other 
men.  If  they  nominate  other  men,  I  say,  "defeat  them  at  the 
polls."  Put  your  wisest  enemy  in  rather  than  a  weak,  in 
efficient,  wavering  revenue  reformer.  You  know  where  to  find 
your  enemies.  You  do  not  know  where  to  find  your  friends 
on  such  occasions. 

This  is  the  just  and  righteous  indignation  of  a  man  who  is  in 
earnest  and  who  confesses  to  you  that  he  is  a  failure.  Find 
someone  else  who  can  make  this  battle,  but  let  it  be  a  battle 
bequeathed  from  father  to  son  until  the  victory  is  won. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  175 

In  the  course  of  the  speech  which  Mr.  Dorsheimer  made 
he  gave  a  graphic  picture  of  the  way  in  which  some  of  the 
votes  in  Congress  had  been  cast  in  the  previous  June. 

When  you  came  to  talk  to  those  gentlemen  who  voted 
against  the  Morrison  bill — most  moderate  as  it  was — what 
was  their  answer  ?  One  of  them  said  to  me,  ' '  I  am  as  good  a 
revenue  reformer  as  you  are.  I  am  a  free-trader,  but  I  had 
to  trim  on  this  matter  in  order  to  carry  my  district. "  In  other 
words  a  manufacturer  in  his  district  made  an  arrangement 
with  him  by  which  his  influence  was  secured. 

Another  gentleman  who  now  represents  and  desires  once 
more  to  represent  a  district  formerly  represented  by  a  dis 
tinguished  Democrat — our  present  Minister  to  Turkey- 
turned  to  me  and  said:  "Oh,  I  did  not  run  upon  the  platform 
made  in  Chicago.  I  ran  on  a  platform  which  I  made  myself 
for  my  own  district." 

During  the  year  1886  tariff  reformers  kept  up  an  active 
campaign.  The  Free  Trade  Club  was  hard  at  work;  the 
Young  Men's  Democratic  Club  in  New  York  City  held 
meetings,  circulated  documents,  sent  letters  to  candidates 
for  Congress.  What  we  advocated  especially  was  the 
doctrine  of  free  raw  material.  We  interrogated  candidates 
for  Congress  on  this  point.  All  the  New  York  Democratic 
candidates  answered  that  they  would  support  a  revision  of 
the  tariff  on  this  principle.  Our  New  York  delegation 
was  on  the  whole  satisfactory.  We  made  one  convert 
among  the  Republicans,  Ashbel  P.  Fitch.  He  was  a  well 
known  Republican  and  ran  in  opposition  to  General  Viele. 
The  latter  had  voted  against  taking  up  the  Morrison  tariff 
bill  and  had  lost  the  support  of  many  constituents.  In  his 
reply  to  our  circular  he  declined  to  pledge  himself  to  vote 


i;6       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

for  taking  this  up  at  the  next  session.  Fitch  gave  satis 
factory  pledges  to  favor  the  reduction  of  the  tariff  and  to 
vote  for  the  reduction  or  repeal  of  the  duties  on  raw 
material.  We  supported  him  and  he  was  elected.  He 
afterwards  logically  became  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  was  subsequently  elected  by  it  Comptroller 
of  the  City  of  New  York. 

The  Massachusetts  campaign  on  this  same  subject  was 
very  effective.  William  E.  Russell  (Billy  Russell  as  he  was 
affectionately  called)  was  the  leader  in  that  Common 
wealth.  His  charm  of  manner,  his  stirring  delivery,  his 
union  of  enthusiasm  and  good  sense,  his  manly  and  noble 
character  brought  him  into  national  prominence  and 
(1891-1894)  made  him  Governor  of  his  native  State. 

In  the  same  election  we  made  gains  in  Minnesota  and 
Michigan,  and  held  our  own  in  Iowa,  the  delegation  from 
which  had  once  been  solidly  Republican. 

One  of  our  best  friends  was  General  Joseph  Wheeler  of 
Alabama.  He  had  been,  during  the  Civil  War,  a  brilliant 
cavalry  leader  in  the  Southern  army,  and  President 
McKinley  wisely  gave  him  a  commission  as  Major- 
General  of  Volunteers  during  the  Spanish  War.  He  was 
small  in  stature,  with  what  Chaucer  calls  a  "nut-hede, " 
brilliant  eyes,  and  a  presence  instinct  with  life.  He  was  a 
staunch  supporter  of  tariff  reform  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  I  must  pause  to  relate  an  anecdote  of  the  old 
warrior.  When  he  lay  dying  he  roused  for  a  moment  and 
said  to  the  doctor:  "Is  the  battle  ready  to  begin?"  The 
doctor  thought  he  referred  to  the  last  struggle  with  mor 
tality  and  answered:  "Yes,  General."  "Then  put  some 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  177 

cotton  in  my  ears.  I  always  do  that  before  going  into 
battle. "  The  doctor  did  as  he  was  asked,  Wheeler  rested 
his  head  on  the  pillow,  and  in  a  few  moments  passed  away 
to  the  immortal  life. 

After  the  election  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  Novem 
ber,  1886,  we  gave  a  dinner  to  Jacob  Schoenhof.  He  had 
been  appointed  by  Cleveland  Consul  to  Tunstall,  England. 
When  not  occupied  with  the  care  of  American  commercial 
interests  in  the  great  manufacturing  center  in  the  north  of 
England,  he  made  a  careful  study  of  comparative  wages 
in  America  and  Europe.  He  found  that  in  many  branches 
of  industry  the  cost  of  production  in  the  United  States 
was  really  lower  than  that  in  corresponding  industries  in 
England,  though  the  wages  were  higher.  I  quote  from  a 
contemporary  report  of  his  speech : 

The  only  advantages  which  he  could  discover  foreign  coun 
tries  to  possess  over  the  United  States  in  manufacturing  were 
in  the  superior  technical  instruction  which  they  gave  their 
artisans,  and  which  enabled  them  to  produce  finer  qualities  of 
goods  than  American  factories  had  as  yet  sent  forth.  He 
humorously  described  his  search  for  the  barrels  of  British  gold 
which  he  had  heard  the  Cobden  Club  was  sending  over  to  this 
country  to  corrupt  American  politics,  and  break  down  the 
American  tariff.  Instead  of  discovering  any  interest  among  the 
English  in  the  movement  for  the  reduction  of  the  American 
tariff,  he  found  either  total  indifference  to  the  matter  or  a 
strong  hope  that  for  the  sake  of  English  manufacturers  the 
Americans  would  strictly  maintain  their  tariff. 

In  1886  Daniel  Manning  resigned  his  position  as  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury  and  Charles  S.  Fairchild  succeeded 
him.  In  his  report  presented  in  December,  1886,  he  put 
the  argument  clearly  as  follows: 


178       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Our  increasing  capacity  to  produce  an  industrial  surplusage 
has  been  accompanied  by  war  taxation  exactly  suited  to  pre 
vent  the  sale  of  that  surplusage  in  foreign  markets.  Out  of 
our  actual  abundance  this  war  taxation  has  forged  the  instru 
ment  of  our  industrial  and  commercial  mutilation.  Defeating 
our  manufacturers  in  their  endeavor  to  compete  abroad  with 
the  manufacturers  of  untaxed  raw  materials,  it  has  set  them 
on  a  ferocious  competition  at  cut-throat  prices  in  our  own  home 
market,  to  which  they  are  shut  up,  and  for  which  their  pro 
ducing  powers  are  increasingly  superabundant.  Long  periods 
of  Nglut  and  so-called  overproduction  have  alternated  with  brief 
periods  of  renewed  activity  and  transient  prosperity  like  the 
present.  These  prolonged  war-tariff  taxes,  incompetent  and 
brutal  as  a  scheme  of  revenue,  fatal  to  the  extension  of  foreign 
markets,  and  disorderly  to  our  domestic  trade,  have  in  the 
last  resort  acted  and  reacted  with  most  ruinous  injury  upon 
our  wage  earners. 

An  official  analysis  of  the  last  census  discloses  that  of  the 
17,392,099  persons  in  the  United  States  then  engaged  in  gain 
ful  work  (now  20,000,000)  about  95%  cannot  be  subjected  to 
foreign  competition,  and  about  5%  are  all  who  can  be,  or, 
rather,  whose  employers  can. 

On  the  other  hand  19,000,000  persons  paying  nineteen 
twentieths  of  those  tax  increased  prices,  and  paying  also 
nineteen  twentieths  of  any  enhanced  prices  of  the  domestic 
product  thus  guarded  against  competition,  were  themselves 
engaged  in  other  gainful  work  by  its  nature  not  subject  to  any 
foreign  competition,  and  could  therefore  obtain  no  such  in 
cidental  benefit,  but  only  loss,  by  taxation. 

And  he  pointed  out  as  Cleveland  did,  in  his  message  of 
1887,  the  injury  caused  by  the  increasing  surplus  in  the 
Treasury. 

We  held  a  mass  meeting  at  Cooper  Institute  on  the 
twelfth  of  January,  1887.  I  introduced  Jackson  S.  Schultz 
as  Chairman  of  the  meeting.  He  was  an  old  New  York 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  179 

merchant  and  one  of  the  tariff-reform  Republicans,  whom 
we  delighted  to  honor.    He  said : 

I  was  present  at  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party. 
My  friends  and  I  joined  it  as  free-soil  Democrats  with  all  the 
free- trade  heresies  of  that  day  and  this.  We  joined  hands  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  free  soil  and  to  abolish  slavery.  That 
has  been  accomplished.  My  friends  have  steadfastly  stuck  to 
these  free-soil  principles,  as  we  expected,  but  during  the  past 
few  years  the  party  they  joined  has  been  sticking  into  the 
platform  planks  of  protection  without  the  knowledge  or 
consent  of  the  free-soilers.  We  have  never  consented  to  these 
platforms.  On  these  questions  I  stand  before  you  a  free  man. 
I  am  a  free-trader.  I  am  in  favor  of  a  revenue  tariff  in  contra 
distinction  to  a  protection  tariff.  The  one  admits,  the  other 
excludes. 

Captain  Dawson,  the  editor  of  the  Charleston  Courier 
and  one  of  our  most  effective  friends  in  the  South,  made  a 
capital  speech.  He  talked  to  the  South  as  well  as  the 
North  and  advocated,  as  Edward  M.  Shepard  and  I  did: 
"  Attack  on  a  few  points,  instead  of  attacking  along  the 
whole  line. "  He  referred  to  S.  S.  Cox's  success  in  securing 
and  preserving,  despite  the  report  of  the  Tariff  Commis 
sion,  the  repeal  of  what  he  called  the  "Blood  Tax"  on 
quinine.  The  protective  system  is  founded  on  the  suppres 
sion  of  natural  advantages,  on  the  denial  of  the  enjoyment 
of  the  blessings  that  Providence  has  given  the  world  in 
varied  soils  and  varied  skies.  We  greeted  him  with  great 
applause,  when  he  cried : 

I  am  an  American  citizen!  The  South  is  ineffably  dear  to 
me.  For  four  years  I  followed  the  starry  cross  of  the  Con 
federacy,  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  and  like  "the 
good  qld  rebel"  of  the  song 


i8o       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Got  wounded  in  three  places, 
And  starved  at  Point  Lookout. 

South  Carolina  is  dear  to  me,  for  there  I  have  lived  and 
worked  for  more  than  twenty  years.  But  there  is  one  feeling 
beyond  all  these,  which  amplifies  them  and  intensifies  them, 
which  comprises  them  as  the  firmament  above  us  holds  in  its 
bosom  its  myriads  of  shining  worlds ;  and  that  is,  that  I  am  an 
American  citizen — against  my  wish  at  first,  I  confess,  but 
glorying  in  the  fact;  asking  "no  pardon  for  anything  I  have 
done,"  but  devoted,  in  soul  and  body,  to  the  hopes,  interests, 
and  aspirations  of  this  supreme  Republic  of  Republics. 

It  is  because  I  am  an  American — it  is  because  the  people 
of  the  Southern  States  are  Americans — that  I  repudiate  the 
notion  that  the  Southern  people  are  willing,  or  could  be  willing, 
to  butcher  the  American  people  to  make  an  industrial  holiday 
for  the  South,  or  any  part  of  it. 

Allow  me  to  say  in  conclusion,  my  fellow-countrymen,  that 
if  there  was  any  lingering  feeling  of  regret,  any  tinge  of  dis 
appointment,  any  trace  of  bitterness,  it  was — at  least  so  far  as 
Charleston,  as  South  Carolina,  is  concerned,  dissipated, 
banished,  blotted  out  forever,by  your  superb  benevolence  when 
Charleston  encountered  the  novel  horror  of  the  earthquake, 
which  was  about  the  only  form  of  calamity  and  trouble  the 
everlasting  city  has  not  known. 

At  this  same  meeting  Henry  George,  who  had  just  been 
defeated  as  candidate  for  Mayor  of  New  York,  made  a 
notable  speech: 

I  do  not  believe  labor  needs  any  protection.  Labor  lies 
at  the  base  of  all  wealth.  What  labor  needs  is  not  protection, 
but  justice.  It  wants  only  fair  play. 

Henry  George's  newspaper,  the  Standard,  was  one  of  the 
most  effective  journals  in  the  advocacy  of  free  trade.  His 
style  was  clear,  his  argument  persuasive. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1877-1887  181 

The  tariff  reformers  carried  the  Democratic  Convention 
held  in  Saratoga  in  September,  1887.  The  New  York 
Democracy  demanded  that  the  federal  taxation  be 
straightway  reduced  by  a  sum  not  less  than  $100,000,000 
a  year;  that  taxes  on  raw  materials  should  be  repealed  or 
reduced ;  the  free  list  increased,  the  tariff  simplified,  and 
the  duties  on  the  necessaries  of  life  reduced. 

During  this  active  propaganda  no  change  had  been 
effected  in  the  tariff.  Cleveland,  who  was  then  President, 
was  one  of  the  few  public  men  who  had  an  active  and 
vigorous  belief  in  economical  administration,  and  who 
showed  his  faith  by  his  works.  The  platform  of  the  party 
had  pledged  him  to  it.  He  always  kept  his  pledges.  So 
far  as  economy  was  concerned  he  was  seconded  by  his 
party  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  result  of  this 
was  that  expenditures  were  kept  within  reasonable  bounds. 
The  revenue  kept  increasing  and  a  surplus  accumulated 
in  the  Treasury.  Under  the  sub-treasury  system  which 
was  adopted  by  the  Democratic  party  in  Van  Buren's  time 
because  of  the  losses  the  government  sustained  by  the 
failure  of  banks  in  the  panic  of  1837,  this  surplus  lay  idle. 
Accordingly  Cleveland,  after  consultation  with  his  Cabi 
net,  determined  to  send  in  a  message  to  Congress  at  the 
opening  of  the  December  session  of  1887,  which  would 
deal  exclusively  with  the  tariff,  with  the  necessity  for 
its  reduction,  and  with  the  baneful  effect  upon  the  busi 
ness  of  the  country  of  the  surplus  hoarded  in  the 
Treasury. 

Many  party  leaders  thought  Cleveland's  popularity 
and  the  success  of  his  administration  were  such  that  the 


182       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

party  was  sure  of  success  in  the  approaching  election,  and 
urged  Cleveland  strongly  not  to  send  the  message.  His 
reply  was  characteristic : 

I  am  here  as  the  servant  of  the  people,  and  I  must  do  my 
duty  to  them.  If  they  think  it  proper  to  elect  someone  else 
as  my  successor,  that  is  for  them  to  say.  As  long  as  I  am 
President  I  must  do  my  duty  to  them,  and  I  feel  that  it  compels 
me  to  send  this  message  to  Congress. 


CHAPTER  IX 

TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913 

A  liberal  and  free  commerce  will  succeed  to  the  devastations 
and  horrors  of  war. — George  Washington. 

As  the  activity  of  the  Free  Trade  Club,  and  other 
associations  for  tariff  reform,  increased,  the  Protectionist 
attacks  became  more  vehement.  The  battle  raged  along 
the  whole  line.  The  reformers  realized  the  necessity  of 
more  comprehensive  organization.  There  were  many 
friends  of  reform  to  whom  the  name  of  Free  Trade  was 
obnoxious.  They  thought  it  implied  an  immediate  repeal 
of  all  tariff  duties.  Then  there  were  other  members  of  the 
Free  Trade  Club,  notably  R.  R.  Bowker,  who  were  of 
opinion  that  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  organize  a  club 
which  should  deal  not  only  with  tariff  reform  but  with 
other  political  questions.  Accordingly,  on  the  thirteenth 
of  January,  1888,  members  of  the  Free  Trade  Club  or 
ganized  the  Reform  Club  and  in  our  constitution  declared 
its  purposes  to  be  as  follows : 

The  Reform  Club  is  organized  to  promote  honest,  efficient, 
and  economical  government,  and  will  welcome  citizens  who 
agree  with  its  policy  in  respect  to  the  tariff,  as  hereinafter  set 
forth,  including  those  who  are  yet  more  directly  concerned  in 
promoting  a  non-partisan  civil  service,  sound  currency,  the 

183 


1 84       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

business   administration   of   cities,    or   the   improvement   of 
electoral  methods. 

The  Club  has  for  its  immediate  purpose  tariff  reform  by 
reduction  or  abrogation  of  so-called  protective  taxes,  es 
pecially  of  those  either  so  discouraging  to  imports  as  to  yield 
to  the  Government  but  a  small  revenue  when  compared  with 
the  enormous  subsidies  thereby  compelled  to  be  paid  by  the 
people  at  large  to  the  favored  few,  or  so  enhancing  the  cost  of 
materials  to  our  manufacturers  as  to  bar  them  from  the 
markets  of  the  world. 

Our  first  president  was  Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  our  secre 
tary,  Russell  Sturgis.  Edwin  L.  Godkin  became  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Civil  Service  Reform,  R.  R.  Bowker 
of  the  Committee  on  Publication,  and  I  of  the  Committee 
on  Tariff  Reform.  We  leased  a  house,  12  East  33d  Street 
and  provided  the  usual  club  facilities.  The  Tariff  Reform 
Committee  was  divided  into  sub-committees,  each  of 
which  dealt  with  a  separate  schedule,  iron  and  steel, 
wool,  cotton  and  the  rest  of  them. 

Meanwhile  the  Democratic  tariff  reformers  had  in 
troduced  a  tariff  bill  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
which  was  reported  favorably  by  Roger  Q.  Mills,  of  Texas, 
who  had  become  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee. 

The  first  battle  of  the  new  club  was  fought  at  the  Tre- 
mont  Temple,  Boston,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  March, 
1888.  The  Home  Market  Club  in  Boston  was  an  active 
Protectionist  association,  and  we  challenged  them  to  a 
joint  debate  upon  the  tariff.  Benjamin  F.  Butterworth, 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio,  and  a  reasonable  Pro 
tectionist,  was  selected  as  their  champion.  He  insisted 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  185 

upon  this  form  of  the  question:  "Is  the  wage-earner 
benefited  by  the  protective  policy  as  embodied  in  the 
present  tariff?" 

When  the  evening  came  the  great  building  was  packed 
to  the  ceiling.  It  had  been  arranged  that  the  tariff  re 
formers  should  sit  on  one  side  of  the  house  and  the  Pro 
tectionists  on  the  other.  Each  speaker  was  at  liberty  to 
describe  one  side  as  that  of  the  sheep  or  the  goats,  accord 
ing  to  his  own  disposition. 

In  my  argument,  I  began  with  a  quotation  from  Daniel 
Webster: 

The  great  interests  of  this  country  are  so  united  and  so 
inseparable,  that  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures 
will  prosper  together,  or  languish  together.  All  legislation  is 
dangerous  which  proposes  to  benefit  one  of  these  without 
looking  to  the  consequences  which  may  fall  on  the  others. 

I  pointed  out  that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  was 
dependent  upon  the  harmonious  activity  of  different  indus 
tries  in  different  States  and  that  free  trade  in  the  United 
States  had  been  of  the  greatest  possible  benefit  to  the 
Union.  I  showed  that  wages  depend  upon  three  things: 
First,  demand  and  supply;  second,  the  cost  of  material; 
third,  the  efficiency  of  labor.  The  tariff  diminishes  the  de 
mand  for  labor,  because  it  imposes  burdens  upon  the 
material  out  of  which  American  goods  are  made.  The 
American  mechanic  is  the  most  effective  in  the  world,  and, 
with  his  improved  machinery,  he  need  not  fear  foreign 
competition.  To  the  somewhat  hysterical  argument 
drawn  from  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  I  replied  that 


186       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

under  the  Walker  revenue  tariff  of  1846*  the  manufacturers 
of  the  country  had  prospered  notwithstanding  the  gloomy 
predictions  of  the  Whig  leaders  during  the  debate  on  that 
tariff. 

The  subject  is  still  being  discussed  and  it  is  worth  while 
to  recall  some  of  the  figures  that  I  presented  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  between  1850  and  1860. 

Per  cent. 

Capital  engaged  in  manufactures  increased        .          .  90 
Wages  of  workmen  engaged  in  manufacturing  in 
creased          .......  60 

The  miles  of  railroad  built  increased          .          .          .  220 

The  value  of  farms  increased  ...         .          .         .  103 

And  of  live-stock           ......  100 

Our  national  wealth  as  a  whole  increased            .          .  126 

During  the  ten  years  between  1870  and  1880  in  which  we 
felt  the  full  effects  of  a  high  protective  tariff, 

Per  cent. 

Capital  engaged  in  manufacturing  increased  only       .  32 

Wages  increased  ...  .          .  22 

Mileage  of  railroads  built  increased  .         .  66 

Total  national  wealth  increased      .  40 

In  other  words  under  a  revenue  tariff,  capital  engaged  in 
manufacturing,  wages,  and  national  wealth  all  increased 

1  This  tariff  was  the  most  simple  and  scientific  that  we  have  had  for  a 
century.  In  general  it  imposed  low  rates  of  duty  on  crude  materials,  or 
put  them  on  the  free  list,  made  duties  higher  on  goods  requiring  little  labor 
for  completion,  and  higher  still  on  more  complex  products.  For  example, 
copper  ore  was  free,  copper  in  pigs  paid  a  duty  of  five  per  cent.,  sheet 
copper,  bolts,  and  screws,  paid  twenty  per  cent.  No  duties  were  prohibitory. 
Rates  of  duty  on  the  necessaries  of  life  were  low,  ranging  from  five  to  thirty 
per  cent. ;  on  luxuries  forty  per  cent. ;  on  spirituous  liquors  one  hundred  per 
cent.  At  that  time  there  were  no  internal  revenue  duties. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  187 

three  times  as  much  as  under  a  high  protective  tariff;  and 
railroad  building  increased  four  times  as  much. 

I  quoted  from  Mr.  Sargent  of  New  Haven,  whom  I  had 
asked  to  send  specimens  of  his  goods  to  a  foreign  exposi 
tion.  He  answered: 

The  tariff  prevents  me  from  selling  my  goods  abroad,  and 
why  should  I  send  them  my  patterns.  Give  me  free  raw 
materials,  and  I  fear  no  European  competition.  If  I  could 
get  my  materials  free  of  tax,  I  would  increase  my  wages, 
increase  my  production,  and  diminish  the  cost  of  my  goods. 

I  showed  that  in  every  instance  in  which  raw  materials 
were  free  of  duty,  American  exports  of  manufactured 
goods  were  large  and  increasing.  Finally  I  made  it  clear 
that  the  export  of  cotton,  grain,  and  provisions  from  this 
country  was  what  had  enabled  us  to  hold  our  own  under 
the  existing  protective  tariff.  , 

Our  farmers  have  to  compete  with  the  worst  paid  labor  in 
the  world,  with  the  Russian  peasant  and  the  Indian  ryot; 
and  yet  they  compete  successfully  in  the  markets  of  Liverpool 
and  Paris,  with  the  grain  of  Odessa  and  Calcutta.  If  you  can 
give  our  manufacturers  of  iron,  copper,  nickel,  tin,  and  wool 
the  same  free  raw  materials  that  the  manufacturers  of  cotton, 
petroleum,  and  leather  enjoy,  they  will  need  no  other  pro 
tection. 

This  debate  was  discussed  in  the  newspapers  all  over 
the  country.  I  was  kept  busy  for  a  month  answering 
criticisms  which  were  made  upon  various  statements. 
The  Reform  Club  published  my  speech  in  a  form  that 
I  suggested  and  which  proved  effective.  We  printed 
first  the  statements  which  the  Protectionists  had  not 


1 88        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

contradicted.  These  were  really  the  important  features 
of  the  whole  address.  We  then  gave  the  criticisms  and 
my  replies  together  with  a  summary  of  Mr.  Butterworth's 
argument,  which  was  that  the  protective  tariff  was 
necessary  to  equalize  differences  of  cost  of  production 
between  this  country  and  foreign  countries.  His  argu 
ment  was  that  of  the  Republican  party  in  1908,  when  Mr. 
Taft  was  elected.  If  that  party  had  honestly  endeavored 
to  make  a  tariff  which  should  be  limited  to  equalizing  the 
difference  in  the  cost  of  production  between  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries,  it  might  have  remained  in 
power.  In  an  article  published  in  the  Outlook  in  January, 
1909,  I  pointed  out  how  this  might  be  done  and  the 
promise  of  the  platform  fulfilled.  The  article  was  read 
and  circulated,  but  it  was  unheeded.  Like  the  fishes  to 
whom  St.  Anthony  preached: 

The  pikes  went  on  stealing, 
The  eels  went  on  eeling, 
Much  delighted  were  they 
But  preferred  the  old  way. 

The  Reform  Club  opened  the  campaign  in  New  York 
on  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1888,  by  an  address  from  James 
Russell  Lowell.  He  had  recently  returned  from  London 
where  he  had  served  with  great  distinction  as  the  minister 
from  this  country  to  Great  Britain.  His  subject  was: 
"The  Independent  in  Politics."  He  quoted  the  eulogy 
passed  by  Edmund  Burke  upon  the  colonies  in  1774: 
"Nothing  in  the  history  of  mankind  is  like  their  pro 
gress." 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  189 

Burke,  with  his  usual  perspicacity,  saw  and  stated  one  and  a 
chief  cause  of  this  unprecedented  phenomenon.  He  tells  us 
that  the  colonies  had  made  this  marvellous  growth  because, 
"through  a  wise  and  salutary  neglect,  a  generous  nature  has 
been  suffered  to  take  her  own  way  to  perfection."  But  by 
that  "wise  and  salutary  neglect"  he  meant  freedom  from  the 
petty  and  short-sighted  meddlesomeness  of  a  paternal  govern 
ment.  He  meant  being  left  to  follow  untrammelled  the  in 
stincts  of  our  genius  under  the  guidance  of  our  energy. 

The  characteristic  of  American  life,  which  is  so  dear  to 
our  people,  was 

that  humane  equality  not  of  condition  or  station,  but  of  being 
and  opportunity  which  by  some  benign  influence  of  the  place 
had  overcome  them  here  like  a  summer  cloud  without  their 
special  wonder.  Yet  they  felt  the  comfort  of  it  as  of  an  air 
wholesome  to  breathe. 

These  conditions  led  to 

other  results  that  left  less  salutary  effects  behind  them.  They 
bred  a  habit  of  contentment  with  what  would  do,  as  we  say, 
rather  than  an  impatience  of  whatever  was  not  best;  a  readi 
ness  to  put  up  with  many  evils  or  inconveniences,  because  they 
could  not  be  helped;  and  this  has,  especially  in  our  politics, 
conduced  to  the  growth  of  the  greatest  weakness  in  our 
American  character — the  acquiescence  in  makeshifts  and 
abuses  which  can  and  ought  to  be  helped,  and  which  with 
honest  resolution  might  be  helped. 

And  then  turning  to  the  subject  of  the  tariff  he  said: 

But  the  tendency  of  excessive  protection  which  thoughtful 
men  dread  most,  is  that  it  stimulates  an  unhealthy  home 
competition  leading  to  over-production  and  to  the  disasters 
which  are  its  tainted  offspring;  that  it  fosters  over-population, 
and  this  of  the  most  helpless  class  when  thrown  out  of  employ- 


190       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

ment;  that  it  engenders  smuggling,  false  invoices,  and  other 
demoralizing  practices ;  that  the  principle  which  is  its  root  is  the 
root  also  of  rings,  and  syndicates,  and  trusts,  and  all  other 
such  conspiracies  for  the  artificial  raising  of  profits  in  the 
interest  of  classes  and  minorities.  I  confess  I  cannot  take  a 
cheerful  view  of  the  future  of  that  New  England  I  love  so  well, 
when  her  leading  industries  shall  be  gradually  drawn  to  the 
South,  as  they  infallibly  will  be,  by  the  greater  cheapness  of 
labor  there.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  hear  that  called  the  American 
System  which  has  succeeded  in  abolishing  our  commercial 
marine.  It  is  even  less  pleasant  to  hear  it  advocated  as  being 
for  the  interest  of  the  laborer,  by  men  who  imported  cheaper 
labor  till  it  was  forbidden  by  law. 

This  address  was  published  and  circulated  broadcast. 
We   had   another   supporter,    who    has   since  become 
famous,  Woodrow  Wilson.    In  1888  he  wrote1; 

Probably  a  very  considerable  majority  of  the  thinking  people 
of  this  country  are  of  the  opinion  that  some  sort  of  revision  of 
our  present  tariff  laws  ought  to  be  undertaken.  These  laws 
were  passed  under  very  exceptional  circumstances;  they  are 
full  of  complexities  and  absurdities  of  the  most  irritating  and 
unnecessary  sort ;  and  they  yield  a  revenue  greatly  in  excess  of 
the  needs  of  the  Government,  as  well  as  at  some  points  alto 
gether  unnecessary  for  purposes  of  protection. 

The  challenge  which  had  been  presented  by  the  Presi 
dent  was  taken  up  by  the  Republican  party.  When  their 
national  convention  met  in  the  summer  of  1888,  they 
declared  more  boldly  than  ever  for  a  continuance  of  the 
protective  policy  and  the  maintenance  of  the  high  rates  of 
duty.  They  proposed  to  reduce  the  tariff  by  removing  the 
duties  upon  articles  of  foreign  production  which  cannot  be 
produced  in  this  country. 

1  The  National  Revenues,  edited  by  Albert  Shaw,  p.  106. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  191 

Cleveland's  tariff  message  of  December,  1887,  was 
annotated  by  R.  R.  Bowker.  It  became  our  second  docu 
ment.  We  joined  actively  in  the  campaign  of  1888,  in 
which  Cleveland  was  a  candidate  for  reelection.  We 
circulated  205,000  copies  of  this  tariff  message,  and  about 
700,000  of  various  Congressional  speeches  on  the  subject. 
We  secured  special  lists  of  about  300,000  voters  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  classified  in  the  main  according  to 
occupation.  In  addition  to  this  we  obtained  lists  of 
doubtful  voters  and  voters  in  various  States  who  were 
engaged  in  carrying  on  manufactures.  In  sending  litera 
ture  to  each  voter  on  our  list  we  endeavored  to  select  what 
would  be  of  special  interest  to  him. 

We  published  a  periodical  called  Tariff  Reform,  of  which 
680,000  copies  were  distributed. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  accessions  to  our  ranks  in  this 
campaign  was  Seth  Low.  In  1887  he  had  taken  part  in  the 
State  campaign  on  behalf  of  the  Republican  State  ticket. 
He  had  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Republican  party 
would  itself  undertake  the  work  of  tariff  reform.  He  was 
disappointed.  In  an  address  which  he  delivered  before 
the  Reform  Club,  October  17,  1888,  he  declared  that  he 
could  not  assent  to  the  tariff  doctrine  of  the  Republican 
platform,  and  that  the  pronouncement  of  this  doctrine 
made  inevitable  a  campaign  in  which  he  could  have  "no 
share  without  the  sacrifice  of  intellectual  honesty. "  The 
platform  contained  "no  admission  of  the  necessity  of 
reform  in  the  tariff  and  no  pledge  to  make  such  reform." 
He  claimed  that  the  system  of  protection  had  developed 
American  industry  to  such  a  point  that  we  no  longer 


192        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

needed  the  same  high  rates  of  duties  that  had  been 
beneficial  to  us,  and  that  "the  aim  of  legislation 
should  be  to  make  our  manufactories,  as  fast  as  possi 
ble,  less  dependent  than  now  upon  protection."  This 
address  of  Low's  made  many  converts  among  the 
Republicans. 

One  of  our  most  important  publications  was  Friendly 
Letters  to  American  Farmers,  by  J.  S.  Moore.  He  dealt 
specifically  and  clearly  with  the  effect  of  the  tariff  in 
raising  the  prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  with  salt, 
lumber,  window  glass,  plaster,  oil  cloth,  carpets,  crockery, 
bagging,  hosiery  and  clothing  of  all  sorts.  He  prepared  an 
effective  table,  giving  a  comparison  of  war  duties  between 
March  3,  1863,  when  "a  million  soldiers  were  in  the  field 
on  both  sides,  and  when  American  six  per  cent,  gold  bonds 
sold  at  fifty  cents  gold  on  the  dollar, "  and  "  war  duties  in 
1886,  after  twenty-one  years  of  peace,  when  the  surplus 
revenue  had  risen  to  $100,000,000  and  our  four  per  cent, 
bonds  sold  at  124."  The  duties  had  largely  increased, 
sometimes  doubled,  since  1 863.  He  compared  the  duties  on 
articles  of  luxury  and  on  those  of  necessity,  and  showed  the 
latter  to  be  more  than  the  former.  He  concluded  the 
series  as  follows: 

I  challenge  the  journals  who  uphold  our  tariff  system: 
First.     To  print  the  above  list,  which  represents  the  greatest 
legal  swindle  of  the  age.     And, 

Second.  To  explain  and  vindicate  the  injustice  of  retaining 
these  enormous  taxations.  .  .  .  Remember,  further,  that 
for  the  $200,000,000  customs  revenue  that  goes  into  the 
Treasury,  you,  my  fellow  citizens,  pay  at  least  $1,000,000,000 
into  the  pockets  of  monopolists  every  year. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  193 

On  similar  lines,  Jesse  Ryder,  of  Sing  Sing,  gave  us  an 
effective  pamphlet :  "An  Object  Lesson  on  the  Tariff 
—What  the  Tariff  Taxes  Cost  a  Typical  New  York 
Town." 

He  took  the  town  where  he  resided.  He  analyzed  the 
goods  that  were  purchased  by  the  people  there.  He 
showed  how  much  the  cost  of  them  was  enhanced  by  the 
tariff  and  that  this  was  four  times  as  much  as  the  Govern 
ment  received  from  taxes  on  the  articles  consumed. 

In  this  campaign,  as  in  many  others, the  eloquent  voice 
of  Carl  Schurz  was  raised,  both  in  German  and  English 
in  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  freedom  which  were 
precious  to  him.  The  statue  on  Morningside  Drive,  which 
was  dedicated  to  his  memory  in  June,  1913,  shows  him 
as  he  was. 

Notwithstanding  all  our  efforts,  Cleveland  was  not 
elected  in  1888.  The  popular  vote  for  him  was  5,586,242. 
That  for  Harrison  was  5,440,708 ;  a  plurality  for  Cleveland 
of  145,534.  But  Harrison  carried  New  York  and  Indiana. 
Their  electoral  votes  turned  the  scale  in  the  Electoral 
College.  His  plurality  in  New  York  was  only  about 
14,000. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  a  protective  tariff  is  the 
conviction  it  fosters  that  individual  prosperity  depends 
upon  bounties  from  government.  The  natural  conse 
quence  is  that  many  beneficiaries  feel  justified  in  the  use  of 
money  to  bribe  voters  and  thus  carry  elections.  A  letter 
to  one  of  the  leading  journals,  from  its  correspondent  in 
Indiana,  describes  the  way  in  which  the  business  was 
managed  in  that  State: 
13 


194       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

None  of  us  who  were  working  the  voters  handled  any  money. 
Two  men  were  given  the  bag  to  hold,  and  they  went  into  an 
upper  room  which  had  been  used  for  gambling  and  had  a  little 
wicket  in  the  door.  Once  inside,  they  kept  themselves  out  of 
sight.  The  workers  handed  the  voter  a  ticket,  and  saw  him 
give  it  to  the  judge  of  the  election ;  then  we  gave  the  voter  a 
little  check  with  marks  on  it,  which  the  two  men  in  the  gam- 
bling  j-oonrttfpstairs  would  understand.  The  checks  were  little 
pieces  of  pasteboard.  If  we  had  bought  a  man  for  five  dollars 
we  put  V  on  the  check.  If  the  price  was  ten  dollars  we  put  an 
X,  and  if  it  was  twenty  we  put  XX.  The  voter  took  the  check 
upstairs,  shoved  it  through  the  hole  in  the  door,  and  got  his 
money.  The  bag  gave  out  in  my  place  four  times  that  day,  and 
I  went  and  got  more  money  each  time. 

Mr.  Dudley's  circular  to  the  election  managers  gave 
the  following  instructions  (October  24,  li 


Divide  the  floaters  into  blocks  of  five,  and  put  a  trusted 
man  with  necessary  funds  in  charge  of  these  five,  and  make  him 
responsible  that  none  get  away,  and  that  all  vote  our  ticket.  .  .  . 
There  will  be  no  doubt  of  your  receiving  the  necessary  assis 
tance  through  the  national,  State,  and  county  committees,  only 
see  that  it  is  husbanded  and  made  to  produce  results. 

We  obtained  one  of  the  original  letters  and  I  exhibited 
it  at  a  public  meeting  at  which  Mr.  Dudley  was  present  on 
the  platform.  He  turned  pale  and  did  not  dare  deny  it. 

These  abuses  were  so  gross  that  the  public  conscience 
revolted.  The  Democrats  acquiesced  in  the  declared 
result  of  the  election.  But  public  sentiment  no  longer 
tolerates  such  practices  and  the  laws  for  their  punishment 
are  now  enforced. 

Nothing  was  done  with  the  tariff  during  the  winter 
session  of  1888.  Benjamin  Harrison  became  President 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  195 

on  the  fourth  of  March,  1889,  with  a  Republican  House 
and  Senate.  Congress  met  December  13,  1889.  Thomas 
B.  Reed,  of  Maine,  was  chosen  Speaker,  and  William 
McKinley,  of  Ohio,  was  made  chairman  of  the  Ways 
and  Means  Committee.  Two  Republicans  who  afterwards 
were  active  in  framing  tariff  bills,  Nelson  Dingley,  of 
Maine,  and  Sereno  E.  Payne,  of  New  York,  were  on 
this  committee.  The  Speaker  gave  the  Democrats  good 
representation.  John  G.  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  Roger  Q. 
Mills,  of  Texas,  and  Clifton  R.  Breckinridge,  of  Arkansas, 
were  among  the  minority  members.  Hearings  continued 
before  the  Committee  until  May,  1890.  A  bill  agreed  upon 
by  the  majority  was  reported  on  the  sixteenth  of  April.  It 
passed  the  House  with  a  slight  amendment  and  went  to  the 
Senate  on  the  twenty-third  of  May.  The  Senate  adopted 
497  amendments.  There  was  a  conference.  The  Confer 
ence  Committee  report,  which  was  adopted,  in  some  cases 
imposed  a  higher  rate  of  duty  than  either  the  House  or 
Senate  Committee  had  recommended.  The  bill  was 
finally  signed  by  the  President  on  the  first  of  October, 
1890.  Its  principal  feature  was  putting  sugar  on  the  free 
list  and  giving  a  bounty  to  the  manufacturers  of  sugar. 
In  general,  rates  were  greatly  increased. 

The  tariff  reformers  were  not  surprised  at  the  form  of 
the  McKinley  bill.  It  only  stimulated  us  to  fresh  exer 
tions.  The  members  of  the  Reform  Club  by  this  time  had 
so  increased  that  we  bought  of  Amos  R.  Eno  the  house  in 
which  he  had  resided  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Fifth 
Avenue  and  Twenty-seventh  Street.  We  built  an  addi 
tion  to  this  house  at  the  eastern  end,  in  the  upper  story  of 


196       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

which  we  installed  our  library.  Here  we  gathered  what 
was  then  the  best  collection  of  books  in  New  York  City 
on  economic  subjects,  finance,  the  tariff,  and  municipal 
affairs.  We  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  complete  set  of 
The  Nation.  This  periodical,  of  which  E.  L.  Godkin  was 
the  editor,  and  which  was  afterwards  merged  in  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  had  become  the  Reform  organ.  It 
stood  for  everything  for  which  the  Reform  Club  stood, 
and  had  a  great  influence  throughout  the  country,  quite 
disproportionate  to  its  actual  circulation. 

One  of  the  most  important  pieces  of  work  we  did  in 
1889  and  1890  was  a  poll  canvass  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
We  made  a  list  of  the  voters,  stating  their  party  politics, 
occupations,  opinion  on  the  tariff,  and  whether  or  not 
each  was  a  veteran  or  Grand  Army  man.  We  had  on  this 
list  the  names  of  659,100  voters.  The  Reform  Club  was 
the  only  general  bureau  in  America  for  tariff  reform  litera 
ture.  This  we  issued  in  a  semi-monthly  periodical,  known 
as  Tariff  Reform.  We  headed  it  with  a  quotation  from 
George  Washington  which  concluded  as  follows: 

I  indulge  a  fond,  perhaps  an  enthusiastic  idea,  that  as  the 
world  is  evidently  much  less  barbarous  than  it  has  been,  its 
amelioration  must  still  be  progressive;  that  nations  are  be 
coming  more  humanized  in  their  policy,  and  in  fine  that  the 
period  is  not  very  remote  when  the  benefits  of  a  liberal  and 
free  commerce  will  pretty  generally  succeed  to  the  devasta 
tions  and  horrors  of  war. 

This  was  followed  by  an  equally  appropriate  quotation 
from  Cardinal  Gibbons. 

The  successive  numbers  covered  every  subject  connected 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  197 

with  the  tariff  that  could  interest  voters.  They  dealt 
with  United  States  tariff  history  from  the  beginning,  dis 
cussed  the  growth  of  the  protective  policy,  the  position  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  and  Henry  Clay,  and  the  McKinley 
tariff.  We  gave  a  comparison,  item  by  item,  between  the 
tariff  of  1883,  the  Mills  bill,  and  the  McKinley  tariff.  We 
dealt  with  farming  and  the  tariff,  with  dairy  farming,  with 
wool,  small  fruits,  grapes,  shipping  and  subsidies,  iron  and 
steel,  tinned  plate,  copper  and  brass,  salt,  coal,  sugar, 
pottery,  glass,  china,  wall  paper,  brewing,  bottling,  hats, 
clothes,  and  finally  with  what  we  called  "the  drawback 
humbug."  Then  we  had  effective  quotations  from  Re 
publican  leaders,  amongst  others,  from  two  who  are  now 
in  the  Senate  (1916),  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  and  Knute 
Nelson.  These  numbers  were  mailed  throughout  the 
country  and  were  used  generally  by  the  newspapers. 

Early  in   1890,  under  the  chairmanship  of  E.  Ellery 
Anderson, 

the  large  meeting  room  on  the  second  floor  of  Cooper  Union, 
capable  of  seating  about  three  hundred  people,  was  secured 
for  the  purpose  of  a  Tariff  Reform  School,  the  aim  of  which  was, 
by  addresses  from  those  specially  qualified  to  speak  on  speci 
fied  subjects,  to  furnish  an  opportunity  to  those  willing  to  take 
part  in  the  discussion  of  tariff  questions  thoroughly  to  prepare 
themselves.  At  each  meeting  literature  was  distributed 
bearing  upon  the  subject  to  be  discussed  at  the  following 
meeting.1 

At  the  close  of  this  series  of  meetings  an  organization 
known  as  the  Workingman's  Tariff  Reform  League  was 
formed  by  those  who  had  been  regular  attendants.  We 

1  Report,  1890. 


198        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

joined  with  this  League  and  some  Democratic  and  single 
tax  organizations  to  secure  the  nomination  of  suitable 
candidates  to  represent  New  York  City  in  Congress.  We 
obtained  the  nomination  and  election  of  John  DeWitt 
Warner  by  a  large  majority  in  the  Eleventh  District. 
Out  of  179,583  votes  cast  for  all  the  candidates  for  Con 
gress  in  New  York  City  (this  was  before  the  Consolida 
tion)  136,106  were  cast  for  Democratic  candidates  who 
advocated  tariff  reform.  We  held  168  meetings  in  the 
farming  counties.  John  DeWitt  Warner  and  Louis  F. 
Post  did  the  most  work  in  this  campaign,  but  they  had 
many  associates.  These  meetings  led  to  a  fruitful  sugges 
tion  from  George  P.  Decker,  of  Rochester.  He  proposed 
that  joint  debates  be  held  at  the  county  fairs.  We  found 
it  difficult  to  bring  the  Protectionists  to  join  in  these 
debates,  and  it  was  not  until  the  thirteenth  of  August, 
1890,  when  the  Times,  World,  and  Herald  of  New  York 
City  publicly  accused  the  Protectionists  of  cowardice,  that 
they  finally  consented  to  join.  Debates  were  arranged  at 
forty-one  local  fairs.  At  five  of  these  the  Protectionists  de 
faulted.  At  thirty-four  points  they  actually  met  us.  Out 
of  the  fourteen  Republican  Congressional  districts  in  which 
debates  were  held,  five  were  won  for  tariff  reform.  In  one 
there  was  no  Democratic  candidate.  In  every  one  of  the 
other  eight  the  Republican  majority  was  largely  reduced. 
In  these  debates,  William  M.  Springer  of  Illinois, 
Michael  D.  Harter  of  Ohio,  John  E.  Russell  of  Massa 
chusetts,  William  L.  Wilson  of  West  Virginia,  Thomas  G. 
Shearman,  and  I  were  among  the  debaters.  The  debates 
were  certainly  great  fun. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  199 

One  of  the  most  interesting  was  at  a  county  fair  at 
Sandy  Hill,  New  York,  which  attracted  farmers  from 
three  counties — Saratoga,  Washington  and  Warren.  The 
managers  of  the  fair  preferred  to  have  the  protectionist 
speech  and  the  tariff  reform  speech  on  separate  days.  On 
the  day  on  which  I  spoke  entrance  money  was  received 
from  seven  thousand  persons,  and  the  crowd  that  gathered 
around  the  platform  extended  so  far  that  my  voice  was 
taxed  to  the  utmost.  In  front  of  the  platform  there  had 
found  her  way  a  young  woman  riding  astride  on  a  beauti 
ful  black  mare.  Her  riding  dress  was  appropriate.  She 
sat  the  horse  to  perfection  and  managed  to  keep  her 
steady  in  the  midst  of  the  shouts  of  the  crowd  and  the 
music  of  the  brass  band.  From  this  rider  extended  in  all 
directions  a  multitude  on  foot,  and  fringing  them  was  a 
great  array  of  people  in  wagons  who  had  driven  into  the 
fairgrounds. 

My  adversary,  Mahlon  D.  Chance,  the  day  before,  had 
eulogized  the  McKinley  tariff  and  declared  that  it  had 
driven  out  of  business  the  manufacturers  of  pearl  buttons 
in  a  whole  village  in  Austria.  (The  duty  on  pearl  buttons 
under  the  McKinley  tariff  was  designed  to  be  prohibitory ; 
it  was  two  hundred  per  cent.)  He  gave  a  pitiful  descrip 
tion  of  the  wretchedness  and  poverty  of  working  men  and 
their  wives  and  children  in  the  highly  protected  countries 
of  Europe,  which  he,  with  the  usual  inaccuracy  of  his 
fellow-orators,  called  ''free  trade  Europe."  The  picture 
was  overdrawn,  but  I  took  him  at  his  word.  I  went  him 
one  better  in  my  description  of  the  comfort  in  which  the 
American  farmer  lived,  of  his  fertile  fields  and  abundant 


200       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

harvests,  and  arraigned  the  meanness  and  selfishness  of 
the  man  and  the  party  who  would  refuse  to  trade  the 
produce  of  this  country  with  people  who  were  struggling 
for  life  in  Europe.  With  a  ferocity  the  more  savage  be 
cause  it  was  unconscious,  Chance  had  said:  "Let  us  de 
stroy  their  industry,  let  us  prevent  their  trading  with  us; 
no  longer  war  with  arms,  artillery  and  bloodshed,  but  with 
tariffs."  He  pictured  a  migratory  group,  houseless  and 
homeless,  under  an  aqueduct  near  Rome,  and  advocated 
a  tariff  war  against  these  houseless  and  homeless  creatures. 
I  had  the  audience  with  me.  They  saw  the  meanness  of 
his  argument  and  cheered  me  to  a  man.  I  pointed  out  the 
absurdity  of  attributing  the  entire  benefit  of  cheaper  goods 
to  a  protective  tariff  and  showed  that  cheapness  had  been 
caused  by  the  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  iron 
and  in  machinery.  I  exposed  the  absurdity  of  the  claim 
that  we  might  prevent  all  imports  from  Europe  and  yet 
continue  to  sell  as  many  goods  abroad. 

Another  argument  that  we  pressed  with  good  effect 
was  this:  The  more  we  succeed  by  our  tariffs  in  driving 
the  working  people  of  Europe  out  of  business,  the  more 
they  will  come  to  this  country.  The  effect  of  this  will  be 
to  reduce  wages  here.  To  the  argument  that  the  increase 
in  price  originally  caused  by  the  tariff  produced  so  much 
American  competition  that  prices  were  finally  reduced,  we 
brought  forward  in  reply  the  statement  of  Mr.  Rosen- 
garten,  when  he  was  seeking  the  restoration  of  the  duty  on 
quinine  before  the  Tariff  Commission :  "If  the  effect  of  a 
high  tariff  is  not  to  increase  the  price  of  the  domestic 
article,  I  do  not  see  any  use  in  the  tariff. " 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  201 

Similar  arguments  were  addressed  to  audiences  in 
different  parts  of  the  State,  and  they  produced  a  great 
impression.  All  these  methods  were  necessary,  but,  as  Mr. 
Warner  said  in  his  report  from  the  Tariff  Reform  Com 
mittee  of  the  work  accomplished  in  1890: 

Of  all  the  committees,  that  on  Press — Mr.  Walter  H.  Page, 
chairman, — has  probably  accomplished  by  far  the  most 
extensive  and  effective  work  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
expenditure  involved  on  the  part  of  this  Club.  We  have 
secured  the  continuous,  effective  and  enthusiastic  services  of: 

1.  The  American   Press  Association,   to  which  we   give 
7000  words  every  three  weeks  of  popular  tariff  reform  articles, 
which  are  published  in  200  of  the  better  daily  and  weekly 
papers  outside  the  large  cities.    The  estimated  circulation  of 
these  papers  is  300,000. 

2.  The  A.  N.  Kellogg  Newspaper  Company,  Kansas  City, 
to  whom  we  give  8000  words  every  three  weeks,  which  goes 
into  150  papers,  whose  circulation  is  estimated  at  150,000. 

3.  The  Chicago  Newspaper  Union,  to  which  we  send  4000 
words  weekly,  which  goes  into  papers  which  use  plate  matter 
and  "ready  to  print"  papers.    This  matter  is  distributed  by 
matrices  from  the  several  branches  of  this  Union,  among  others 
the  Western  Newspaper  Union,   Chicago  (250  papers);  the 
Northwestern  Newspaper  Union,  St.  Paul  (no  papers);  the 
Indiana  Newspaper  Union,  Indianapolis  (20  papers) ;  through 
branches  at  Detroit,  St.  Louis,  and  other  cities  (300  papers) : 
in  all,  these  680  papers,  having  a  circulation  of  600,000. 

By  this  machinery,  therefore,  we  put  popular  tariff  reform 
matter  into  papers  that  have  a  circulation  in  the  country  and 
in  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  of  about  1 ,050,000. 

One  of  the  most  audacious  attacks  by  the  Republicans 
in  the  course  of  this  campaign  was  by  Senator  Aldrich. 
He  made  a  speech  in  the  Senate  in  which  he  assailed  the 
American  importers.  I  happened  to  be  in  Boston  at  the 


202       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

time,  and  as  I  walked  down  Commonwealth  Avenue  and 
read  the  immortal  words  of  Garrison,  "My  country  is  the 
world;  my  countrymen  are  all  mankind,"  I  was  ashamed 
that  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  should  have  limited  his 
view  to  the  walls  of  his  own  factory  and  been  so  stupid  as 
not  to  see  that  the  interest  of  even  this  little  piece  requires 
trade  with  foreign  countries.  In  an  article  in  the  Boston 
Post  I  pointed  out,  as  I  did  in  many  speeches  and  pam 
phlets  that  every  pound  of  foreign  material  imported  is  paid 
for  by  the  export  of  American  products.  Hancock  was  an 
importer,  Pepperrell  was  an  importer,  Washington  himself 
was  an  importer.  There  were  many  of  us  in  every  State 
who  resented  this  attack  on  the  men  whose  free  spirit, 
quickened  by  freedom  of  commerce,  made  the  Union 
possible  and  has  preserved  it  ever  since. 

The  Congressional  election  of  1890  showed  the  effect 
of  the  good  work  of  the  Reform  Club.  There  was  a  net 
gain  of  seven  Congressmen  in  the  State  of  New  York.  In 
Iowa,  though  the  Republicans  carried  the  State  ticket, 
the  net  Democratic  majority  for  Congressmen  was  eight 
thousand.  Of  eleven  Congressmen  six  tariff  reformers 
were  elected  instead  of  one  in  1888.  In  Illinois  we  picked 
out  one  district  for  work,  that  of  Rowell,  the  chairman  of 
the  House  Committee  on  Contested  Elections.  This  was 
a  Republican  district,  but  we  carried  it  for  the  Democratic 
candidate,  to  whom,  before  the  election,  we  had  forwarded 
a  poll  canvass  indicating  what  turned  out  to  be  the  actual 
result.  Gains  were  made  also  in  Minnesota,  Wisconsin 
and  Michigan.  All  this  work  was  achieved  with  an 
expenditure  of  $58,014.13. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  203 

During  1891  we  continued  the  work  on  the  same  lines 
as  those  of  1890.  A  useful  manual  which  we  published 
came  to  be  known  as  the  Red  Book.  This  contained 
selections  from  "Tariff  Reform,"  rearranged  and  indexed. 
All  our  speakers  had  it.  It  was  a  magazine  of  ammunition 
which  was  used  with  great  effect. 

Our  first  business  in  1892  was  to  secure  the  nomination 
of  Grover  Cleveland  for  the  Presidency.  The  regular 
Democratic  organization  of  the  State  of  New  York  was  in 
the  hands  of  David  B.  Hill  and  his  friends.  He  was  a 
candidate  for  the  nomination.  All  the  energies  of  the 
regular  organization  were  directed  in  his  favor.  Mr. 
George  F.  Parker,  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  his  Recollections 
of  Grover  Cleveland,  has  given  an  account  of  what  was  done 
by  William  C.  Whitney  and  Daniel  S.  Lamont  of  New 
York  and  many  of  the  Democratic  leaders  from  other 
States  to  secure  his  nomination.  Let  me  tell  the  story  of 
what  was  done  by  the  Reform  Club  and  its  members  and 
friends. 

We  had  given  Cleveland  a  dinner  in  the  assembly  room 
in  the  Madison  Square  Garden,  December  23,  1890, 
which  Parker  says  justly  "had  perhaps  as  far-reaching 
effects  as  any  ever  held  in  the  United  States. "  Our 
persistent  propaganda  has  been  described,  and  when  the 
Democratic  State  Committee  on  very  short  notice  called  a 
State  Convention  to  be  held  at  Albany  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  February  to  choose  delegates  from  the  Democra 
tic  party  to  the  National  Convention,  we  realized  that 
the  time  had  come  for  direct  and  personal  work  for  our 
great  leader.  It  was  we  who  styled  this  a  snap  convention, 


204       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

and  organized  the  Anti- Snappers.  No  one  did  more  to 
make  this  organization  effective  than  Edward  M.  Shepard. 
Francis  Lynde  Stetson,  E.  Ellery  Anderson  and  Charles 
S.  Fairchild  took  an  active  part.  We  had  a  convention  of 
our  own,  and  nominated  a  delegation  to  Chicago. 

The  National  Convention  met  at  Chicago  in  June.  The 
Palmer  House  was  the  center  of  interest.  On  its  mezza 
nine  floor  most  of  the  delegations  had  headquarters.  The 
New  York  Independent  delegation  made  headquarters  at 
the  Grand  Pacific.  Among  the  men  especially  active  were 
Frederic  R.  Coudert,  Edward  B.  Whitney  (who  afterward 
became  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York), 
and  Benjamin  Ide  Wheeler,  then  Professor  of  Greek  at 
Cornell,  and  now  President  of  the  University  of  Cali 
fornia.  We  visited  each  delegation  and  assured  them 
that  Cleveland  best  embodied  the  fundamental  princi 
ples  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  that  he  was  the 
one  candidate  who  would  certainly  carry  the  State  of 
New  York.  One  of  the  most  effective  advocates  for  David 
B.  Hill  was  Colonel  Fellows,  who  had  been  District  Attor 
ney  of  New  York  County.  He  was  an  eloquent  speaker 
and  always  went  to  the  heart  of  any  subject  which  he  took 
in  hand. 

One  day  while  our  New  York  delegation  was  at  lunch 
word  came  that  the  Mississippi  delegation  had  appointed 
that  afternoon  for  a  hearing  on  the  merits  of  the  three 
candidates,  Cleveland,  Hill  and  Horace  Boies,  of  Iowa. 
Boies  was  the  only  Democratic  Governor  who  had  ever 
been  elected  in  Iowa,  and  his  supporters  confidently 
claimed  he  could  carry  that  State.  Cleveland's  friends 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  205 

had  thought  of  him  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  but  when 
we  got  to  Chicago  we  found  that  he  was  in  search  of 
higher  game.  "Grasping,  thou  wouldst  lose  all,"  is  a 
warning  that  ambitious  politicians  would  do  well  to  heed. 

When  the  call  came,  it  was  agreed  that  the  two  Wheelers 
should  go  over  to  the  Mississippi  parlor  and  present  there 
the  cause  of  Cleveland.  It  was  very  hot.  Professor 
Wheeler  had  on  a  Norfolk  jacket,  and  I  a  light  sack  coat. 
Informal  dress  was  the  order  of  the  day  in  all  the  delega 
tions.  When  we  arrived  at  the  Mississippi  parlor  we  found 
that  they  were  ready  to  hear  the  representatives  of  the 
three  candidates.  Fellows  spoke  for  Hill.  He  told  how 
loyal  Hill  had  been  to  the  party,  how  he  had  carried  the 
State  of  New  York  for  Governor  when  Cleveland  had 
failed  to  carry  it  for  President,  and  claimed  that  Cleveland 
was  not  popular  in  his  own  State,  and  would  not  get  the 
party  support. 

While  he  was  talking  I  spoke  with  one  of  the  Mississippi 
delegates.  He  said  to  me:  " There  are  only  three  things 
on  which  the  delegation  want  to  hear  you:  I.  Will 
Tammany  support  Cleveland?  2.  Will  he  carry  the 
State  of  New  York?  3.  Why  did  he  nominate  Pearson, 
a  Republican,  for  postmaster  of  New  York  City?"  When 
my  turn  came,  I  disregarded  the  arguments  which  the 
other  orators  had  made  on  any  other  topic,  and  went 
straight  to  the  real  issues  in  the  Mississippian  breast. 

I.  Whatever  may  be  said  against  Tammany  Hall,  I  de 
clared,  it  is  loyal  to  the  party  when  it  comes  to  Election  day, 
and  casts  a  strict  party  vote.  This  is  the  source  of  its  power. 
It  thus  secures  a  great  many  members  who  are  party  men, 


206       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

and  who  on  the  whole  believe  that  loyal  adherence  to  the 
organization  is  the  best  way  to  promote  the  principles  of  the 
party.  I  was  once  a  member  of  Tammany  Hall,  and  watched 
its  activities  closely.  Rely  upon  it,  we  shall  get  the  Tammany 
vote  if  Cleveland  is  nominated. 

2.  Cleveland  is  the  only  Democrat  who  under  present  con 
ditions  can  carry  the  State  of  New  York  for  the  Presidency. 
The  Reform  Club  has  made  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  State. 
We  have  been  engaged  for  four  years  in  a  vigorous  campaign 
for  tariff  reform.     We  are  well  acquainted  with  the  sentiment 
of  the  voters.     This  is  for  Cleveland  because  he  represents 
the  principles  that  we  have  at  heart  and  has  maintained 
them  manfully.     The  fact  that  Hill's  supporters  felt  obliged 
to  call  a  convention  at  an  unusually  early  day  and  on  short 
notice  shows  that  they  were  afraid  of  the  people  and  unwilling 
to  risk  a  fair  election  of  delegates  at  the  party  primaries. 

3.  All  party  men  know  that  in  appointments  to  office  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  Executive  to  pay  some  consideration  to  his 
supporters.    The  election  in  1888  in  the  State  of  New  York  was 
close.    Elaine  received  many  Democratic  votes.    It  was  only 
by  the   support   of  the   Independents  that   Cleveland  was 
enabled  to  carry  the  State.    They  supported  him  loyally  in  the 
face  of  violent  abuse  from  their  old  Republican  friends.     On 
every  principle  of  party  policy  they  were  entitled  to  considera 
tion  at  the  hands  of  the  new  Administration.     Curtis  and 
Schurz  were  their  leaders  in  New  York.    They  said  to  Cleve 
land  that  they  asked  nothing  for  themselves,  but  that  they 
felt  it  was  his  duty  to  promote  Pearson  to  be  postmaster  of  the 
city.     He  had  risen  from  a  clerkship,  had  become  the  first 
deputy,  had  conducted  the  office  with  great  ability,  and  was  in 
every  respect  fitted  for  it,  and  was,  therefore,  the  man  who 
should  have  the  appointment.     Cleveland  appointed  him.     I 
put  it  to  you  whether  it  was  not  his  duty,  not  only  as  a  Civil 
Service  Reformer,  but  as  a  party  man,  to  make  this  appoint 
ment. 

These  arguments  proved  convincing. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  207 

The  Convention  met  the  next  day  in  the  Wigwam  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  This  was  an  enormous 
building  with  galleries,  and  would  seat  as  many  as  fifteen 
thousand  people.  It  had  a  long  lantern  in  the  roof  running 
lengthwise,  arranged  like  a  clerestory. 

The  first  question  was  on  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Platform.  There  was  a  majority  and  a  minority  report. 
These  were  discussed  at  length.  The  vote  was  taken  by 
States  and  the  platform  as  it  was  submitted  to  the  people 
was  finally  adopted.  This  result  was  favorable  to  the 
tariff  reformers.  Cleveland's  friends  were  sure  of  a  major 
ity,  and  the  leaders  on  the  floor  felt  reasonably  sure  that 
they  had  two  thirds  of  the  delegates.  Still  they  decided 
to  hold  their  forces  together  and  not  to  adjourn  until  the 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  had  been  made.  Accord 
ingly  when  late  in  the  afternoon  the  vote  had  been  taken 
on  the  adoption  of  the  platform  and  a  motion  to  adjourn 
was  made  by  Hill's  supporters,  the  Cleveland  men  voted 
it  down.  Then  came  the  nominations.  David  B.  Hill  was 
nominated  by  the  regular  delegation  from  his  own  State. 
Our  contesting  delegation  had  been  heard,  had  presented 
their  arguments,  and  had  been  convinced  by  Mr.  Whitney 
that  it  was  expedient  not  to  press  their  claim  to  be  repre 
sented  on  the  floor  of  the  House  as  against  the  regular 
delegation.  So  we  had  no  votes  in  Convention.  Senator 
Daniel,  of  Virginia,  made  a  speech  for  Hill,  with  old- 
fashioned  florid  eloquence.  Senator  Vilas,  of  Wisconsin, 
made  a  clear  and  forcible  speech  in  Cleveland's  favor. 

William  L.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  was  the  president 
and  conducted  the  proceedings  with  the  same  dignity  and 


208       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

good  temper  that  he  showed  when  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  It  was  indeed  a  tumultuous  assemblage. 
The  clouds  of  the  sultry  day  had  been  followed  by  a  violent 
thunderstorm.  The  windows  of  the  clerestory  were  open, 
and  those  who  sat  in  the  gallery,  as  I  did,  could  see  the 
flashes  of  lightning  through  the  open  windows.  Then 
came  the  roar  of  the  thunder.  From  below  resounded  the 
acclamations  of  the  delegates  when  their  favorite  candi 
dates  were  put  in  nomination.  The  supporters  of  Cleve 
land  and  the  supporters  of  Hill  strove  to  out-do  each  other 
in  vociferation.  A  brass  band  played  at  intervals  and 
gave  us  with  impartiality  the  Star  Spangled  Banner, 
Yankee  Doodle,  Marching  Through  Georgia,  and  Dixie. 
Dixie  was  greeted  with  the  old  "rebel  yell,"  and  was 
cheered  to  the  echo. 

As  the  night  wore  away  another  attempt  was  made  to 
adjourn,  but  this  was  voted  down.  Fortunately  a  member 
of  the  New  York  delegation,  Henry  Marquand,  who 
afterwards  claimed  to  have  saved  my  life  by  this  proceed 
ing,  had  brought  a  box  of  sandwiches.  These  he  divided 
among  the  hungry  delegates,  and  we  thus  sustained  our 
lives  in  the  absence  of  dinner.  Many  other  delegates  had 
similar  support.  We  were  buoyed  up  by  the  great  wave 
of  excitement. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  it  was  supposed 
that  everything  had  been  said  that  could  be  said,  the 
regular  New  York  delegation  called  for  another  speaker, 
and  William  Bourke  Cockran  made  his  way  to  the  rostrum. 
His  clear  musical  voice  was  heard  distinctly  throughout 
the  great  hall.  Every  shortcoming  in  Mr.  Cleveland's 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  209 

career  was  dwelt  upon,  every  prejudice  that  could  be 
excited  against  him  was  appealed  to.  Coming  when 
New  York  had  already  been  heard  and  when  the  lateness 
of  the  hour  made  it  impossible  to  reply,  this  roused  a  burst 
of  indignation  in  the  breasts  of  our  delegation  that  I  hardly 
know  how  to  express.  We  felt  like  killing  the  orator, 
but  that  was  impossible,  so  we  killed  his  candidate  with 
votes.  Almost  immediately  the  roll  began  to  be  called.  We 
kept  tally.  Mississippi  had  been  in  doubt,  and  we  watched 
that  vote  with  especial  interest.  When  Mississippi  gave  a 
unanimous  vote  for  Grover  Cleveland  the  applause  from 
all  over  the  hall  was  unbounded.  Those  who  knew  the 
situation  knew  that  this  settled  it,  and  that  the  two  thirds 
vote,  which  is  required  under  the  rules  of  the  Democratic 
Convention,  would  be  secured  on  the  first  ballot.  And  it 
was.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  chairman 
announced  that  Grover  Cleveland  had  received  6i6j^ 
votes  and  was  the  nominee  of  the  National  Democratic 
Convention  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the  Convention  adjourn. 
The  electric  storm  which  had  dazzled  our  eyes  and 
deafened  our  ears  had  passed  over  the  city,  and  as  we 
poured  out  of  the  eastern  doors  of  the  Wigwam  we  saw  the 
sky  aglow  with  the  brilliant  colors  of  the  sunrise.  This  we 
felt  was  a  good  omen,  and  we  greeted  it  with  wearied 
bodies  but  with  joyful  souls.  Our  delegation  walked  over 
to  the  Grand  Pacific  in  company  with  many  of  our  friends, 
among  them  the  Mississippians.  We  were  almost  fam 
ished.  That  hour  is  the  most  difficult  time  in  a  hotel  to 
get  anything  to  eat.  It  is  too  late  for  supper  and  too  early 


210       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

for  breakfast.  We  succeeded  in  routing  up  the  night  clerk 
of  the  drug-store  and  consumed  all  the  eggs  and  milk  that 
were  in  his  stock.  One  of  the  Mississippians  said  to  me: 
"If  you  New  Yorkers  don't  carry  New  York  this  fall,  we 
shall  go  about  Mississippi  with  our  tails  between  our  legs." 
"Oh,"  said  I,  "you  need  have  no  fear.  We  shall  carry 
New  York  by  a  good  majority."  This  optimistic  view  of 
the  situation  proved  correct.  When  we  had  finished  our 
meager  lunch,  we  went  to  bed,  a  tired,  but  a  happy  crowd. 
When  we  got  home  to  New  York  we  all  went  to  work. 

During  this  campaign,  E.  Ellery  Anderson  (who  in 
November,  1893,  had  succeeded  me  as  President  of  the 
Reform  Club)  became  chairman  of  the  Tariff  Reform 
Committee.  Warner  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Other  States.  The  Reform  Club  distributed  485,928 
documents  and  books.  We  held  during  the  year  three 
hundred  meetings  under  the  direct  auspices  of  the  Com 
mittee.  This  year  we  could  not  get  the  Republicans  to 
take  part  in  joint  debates,  with  three  exceptions.  I  took 
part  in  two  of  these,  one  at  Hobart,  Delaware  County,  and 
one  at  Sandy  Creek,  Oswego  County.  My  adversary  in 
the  first  was  Mr.  Sanderson  and  in  the  other,  Mr.  C.  L. 
Poorman  of  Ohio. 

Byron  W.  Holt  had  charge  of  the  distribution  of  litera 
ture  with  the  newspaper  associations,  and  reached  one 
thousand  newspapers  through  these  agencies.  We  made 
arrangements  with  the  publishers  of  Puck  for  the  issue  of 
a  Puck  extra  containing  a  selected  number  of  their  tariff 
cartoons.  We  made  extensive  use  of  posters  presenting, 
to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Anderson; 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  211 

either  by  an  appropriate  cartoon  or  by  a  particularly  effective 
quotation  the  point  or  illustration  or  some  principle  which  we 
desired  to  impress  upon  the  people.  These  posters  exhibited 
in  store  windows,  in  villages  and  towns  in  this  State,  were 
exceedingly  effective. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  contests  was  in  connection 
with  a  report  which  had  been  made  by  Charles  F.  Peck, 
Commissioner  of  Labor  for  New  York.  He  was  supposed 
to  be  a  Democrat  and  was  appointed  by  a  Democratic 
governor.  But  he  issued  a  report  containing  statistics 
showing  the  prosperity  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
volunteered  the  opinion  that  this  prosperity  had  been 
caused  by  the  operation  of  the  McKinley  tariff.  President 
Harrison  thought  this  report  of  sufficient  importance  to 
justify  special  reference  to  it  in  his  letter  of  acceptance. 
It  was  a  piece  of  party  perfidy  contrived  by  the  enemies  of 
Cleveland  and  designed  to  defeat  his  election.  The  Tariff 
Reform  Committee  demanded  of  Peck  the  data  which  he 
had  used  in  making  this  report.  Our  object  was  to  show 
that  the  great  prosperity  to  which  he  referred  was  not  the 
result  of  the  McKinley  bill.  Peck  refused  to  furnish  the 
data,  and  we  obtained  a  mandamus  to  compel  their  pro 
duction,  which  was  returnable  on  Monday,  the  twelfth  of 
September.  On  the  Sunday  evening  he  burned  up  most  of 
the  schedules  which  he  claimed  supported  his  statement. 
This  was  a  boomerang,  and  removed  entirely  whatever 
impression  favorable  to  the  McKinley  tariff  might  have 
been  produced  by  the  report. 

A  curious  feature  of  this  campaign  was  the  distrust 
which  Whitney  and  the  Democratic  politicians,  who  had 


212       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

charge  of  the  National  campaign,  showed  of  the  Reform 
Club.  We  always  supposed  that  Whitney  had  no  faith  in 
tariff  reform,  that  he  was  afraid  of  our  free-trade  principles, 
and  thought  that  it  was  desirable,  if  possible,  to  ignore 
them.  He  let  us  severely  alone  and  managed  so  that  not 
one  of  those  who  were  active  in  the  Reform  Club  should 
have  any  official  position  in  the  Democratic  Campaign 
Committee.  However,  our  object  was  not  official  position 
or  party  recognition,  but  the  election  of  Mr.  Cleveland 
and  the  repeal  of  the  McKinley  bill. 

During  this  campaign  I  declared  to  some  friends  that  I 
thought  it  probable  that  the  Democrats  would  carry  the 
Senate  as  well  as  the  House  of  Representatives.  This  was 
treated  as  an  instance  of  my  excessive  optimism,  but  when 
the  returns  were  all  in,  it  appeared  that  I  was  right  and 
that  the  Democrats  had  elected  their  President  by  a  large 
majority,  had  a  large  majority  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and  would  have  a  majority  in  the  Senate. 

When  the  House  of  Representatives  met  in  1893,  Wil 
liam  L.  Wilson  became  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  and  undertook  to  prepare  a  tariff  bill. 

The  Reform  Club  itself  sent  a  bill  to  Congress,  which 
went  much  farther  than  did  the  Wilson  bill  in  the  reduc 
tion  of  duties.  One  of  the  first  inquiries  in  reference  to 
this  came  from  Senator  Proctor,  of  Vermont.  He  was  the 
head  of  the  largest  marble  quarry  company  in  America, 
and  a  man  for  whom  I  had  great  personal  regard.  I  always 
found  him  manly  and  straightforward.  He  was  not  an 
orator,  but  whenever  he  spoke  in  the  Senate  he  was  listened 
to  with  attention,  for  he  spoke  clearly  and  to  the  point. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  213 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  13,  1893. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  see  by  the  newspapers  that  a  tariff  bill  has  been  prepared 
by  the  "Tariff  Reform  Association  of  New  York"  and  that 
copies  have  been  to  some  extent  distributed.  This  may  be 
only  a  newspaper  report,  but  if  true,  I  would  be  much  pleased 
if  you  would  send,  me  a  copy.  It  is  a  matter  which  evidently 
will  engage  our  attention  next  fall,  and  whether  I  take  any 
part  in  the  discussion  or  not,  would  like  all  the  information  I 
can  obtain.  I  am  a  Protectionist,  but  not,  I  believe,  an 
extreme  one.  In  '90  I  was  urged  very  hard  to  favor  an  increase 
of  the  duty  on  /narble  by  many  from  different  sections  of  the 
country,  and  while  I  should  have  declined  anyway  to  do  so  in 
the  position  I  then  occupied,  I  also  informed  all  who  applied 
to  me  that  I  did  not  believe  in  asking  for  any  increase,  and 
none  was  made,  and  have  never  been  sorry  that  I  did  so.  The 
duty  was  largely  reduced  in  '83  and  the  present  schedule,  while 
it  may  not  be  perfect,  is  simpler,  and  I  think  much  more  satis 
factory  than  any  previous  one  since, my  acquaintance  with  the 
business.  At  least  there  have  been  less  evasions  and  fewer 
complaints  under  it. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

REDFIELD  PROCTOR. 

HON.  EVERETT  P.  WHEELER, 
New  York  City. 

The  Tariff  Revision  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Wilson  in 
the  spring  of  1894.  It  passed  the  House.  Its  distinctive 
feature  was  the  putting  of  wool  on  the  free  list.  This  had 
been  one  of  the  issues  of  the  campaign,  and  to  many  of  us 
seemed  a  success  well  worth  fighting  for.  The  bill  went  to 
the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Senate  and  was  greatly 
altered.  To  pass,  it  needed  the  votes  of  Senator  Smith  of 
New  Jersey  and  Senator  Gorman  of  Maryland.  They  were 


2i4       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

both  Protectionists  and  obtained  amendments  which 
greatly  increased  the  rates  of  duty  imposed  by  the  House 
bill.  They  especially  insisted  that  the  sugar-refining 
interests  should  be  protected  by  a  differential,  being  the 
difference  between  the  duty  on  raw  and  on  refined  sugar. 
The  interest  of  the  Havemeyers  in  sugar  refining,  and  the 
action  of  these  two  gentlemen,  gave  them  the  soubriquet 
of  "Senators  from  Havemeyer. " 

As  thus  amended,  the  bill  went  to  the  House.  Gorman 
and  Smith  assured  Wilson  that  it  must  be  adopted  just 
as  it  had  passed  the  Senate  and  that  no  changes  would  be 
admissible. 

David  B.  Hill  had  been  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  from  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr.  Cleveland  got 
no  support  from  him.  On  the  contrary,  Senator  Hill  voted 
with  the  Republicans  against  the  bill  to  repeal  the  McKin- 
ley  Act.  Vice-President  Stevenson  said:  "At  one  critical 
moment  of  the  struggle  the  bill  was  only  saved  by  the 
casting  vote  of  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate. "  As  I 
said  at  the  time,  "Why  was  not  Mr.  Hill  there  to  save  the 
bill,  and  how  can  he  excuse  himself  to  the  Democrats  of 
New  York  for  his  failure?" 

Wilson  consulted  some  of  the  tariff  reformers  as  to 
whether  or  not  the  bill  in  the  shape  in  which  it  passed  the 
Senate  was  a  sufficient  improvement  over  theMcKinley 
bill  to  justify  the  House  in  passing  it.  I  told  him  that  I 
thought  the  free-wool  feature  which  was  retained  by  the 
Senate  was  alone  an  advantage  sufficient  to  induce  one  to 
put  up  with  all  the  other  changes.  One  evening  at  the 
Arlington  in  Washington  he  came  out  from  a  meeting  of 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  215 

the  Democratic  members  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Com 
mittee  and  told  me  that  they  had  agreed  to  concur  in  the 
Senate  amendments.  The  House  therefore  concurred, 
nolens  volens. 

The  bill  was  passed  and  went  to  the  President.  His 
indignation  against  Gorman  and  Smith  for  the  part  they 
had  taken  in  the  amendment  of  the  bill,  and  against  Hill, 
who  had  voted  against  it,  was  intense.  He  refused  to  sign 
the  bill,  but  took  the  ground  that  it  was  better  than  the 
McKinley  tariff,  and  allowed  it  to  become  a  law  without 
his  signature. 

About  this  time  I  received  from  Michael  D.  Harter, 
who  was  one  of  our  best  friends  in  the  House,  the  following 
letter: 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  U.  S.f 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

August  2 1,  1894. 

DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  enclosure  in  yours  of  the 
1 7th  inst.  and  not  less  so  by  your  calling  my  attention  to  that 
vote  of  Mr.  Seward  in  1857  [for  free  wool].  While  our  bill 
does  not  go  far  in  itself,  its  effect  I  think  will  be  far  reaching. 
One  who  reads  Trumbull's  History  of  the  Free  Trade  Movement 
in  England  must  be  full  of  hope  for  the  future. 

Of  course  the  bill  is  a  rather  ridiculous  finale  of  twenty  years 
of  such  effort  as  you  and  others  have  put  forth,  yet  we  can 
well  afford  to  take  courage  and  go  forward.  The  men  who  will 
go  down  on  the  records  with  honor  will  not  be  the  Germans. 
They  will  be  the  Wheelers,  the  Wells,  the  Wilsons,  and  the 
others  who  have  always  kept  the  faith. 

Yours  truly, 

MICHAEL  D.  HARTER. 


2i6       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  passage  of  this  bill  ended  in  the  main  the  activity 
of  the  Reform  Club  for  tariff  reform.  The  business  dis 
tress  which  was  the  inevitable  result  of  an  era  of  specula 
tion  between  1880  and  1893,  and  of  our  vicious  currency 
system,  was  upon  the  country.  The  Republicans  attri 
buted  this  to  the  Wilson  bill.  They  had  so  confidently 
predicted  disaster  from  tariff  revision  that  many  of  them 
had  come  to  believe  their  own  predictions  and  aided  to 
create  the  evil  which  they  feared.  Sheep-growers  sold 
their  sheep.  Manufacturers  diminished  production  and 
reduced  wages.  On  the  other  hand,  the  free-silver  men 
attributed  business  distress  to  the  demonetization  of 
silver.  On  this  latter  point  the  Democratic  party  was 
hopelessly  divided.  The  halo  which  surrounded  Cleve 
land's  head  when  he  went  into  office  had  faded.  He 
was  no  longer  the  head  of  a  united,  victorious,  and 
enthusiastic  party.  It  had  become  his  business  to 
endeavor  to  "  ride  on  the  whirlwind  and  direct  the 
storm. " 

Let  me  here  insert  a  letter  which  I  received  from  Mr. 
Carlisle  in  April,  1895.  He  had  been  appointed  by  Mr. 
Cleveland,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  was  a  misfortune 
to  the  country  that  Carlisle  had  not  taken  the  seat  in  the 
Senate  to  which  he  had  been  elected  by  the  Kentucky 
Legislature  and  aided  in  the  fight  for  the  Wilson  bill. 
Cleveland  did  not  realize  that  in  the  condition  of  the 
party  it  was  more  important  to  him  to  have  active, 
intelligent  and  vigorous  support  in  Congress  than  it 
was  to  have  in  his  Cabinet  men  who  had  won  distinc 
tion  there. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  217 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  OFFICE  OF  THE  SECRETARY, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

April  2  7, 1895. 

Mr.  EVERETT  P.  WHEELER, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: 

Yours  of  the  instant,  in  which  you  so  kindly  refer  to 
our  personal  association  in  the  "old  tariff  fight,"  was  duly 
received,  for  which  you  will  please  accept  my  thanks. 

Although,  as  you  say,  "the  bill  of  last  year  leaves  much  to 
be  desired, "  its  effect  will  be  to  demonstrate  to  the  people  the 
wisdom  of  the  policy  it  has  inaugurated.  Our  future  duty  is  to 
resist  all  reactionary  movements  and  keep  ourselves  con 
stantly  in  a  position  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity 
that  may  be  afforded  to  make  further  progress  in  the  direction 
of  freer  trade.  The  question  of  tariff  reform  has  taken  its 
place  permanently  in  the  business  and  politics  of  the  country, 
and  its  final  settlement  upon  just  and  equitable  principles  is 
only  a  question  of  time.  In  the  meanwhile,  there  is  another 
question  demanding  immediate  attention.  The  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  full  legal  tender  silver  dollars  by  the 
United  States,  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  I,  is  being  vigorously 
advocated  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  country,  and  the  friends 
of  a  sound  and  stable  measure  of  value  must  meet  and  refute 
the  arguments  by  which  this  fatal  policy  is  attempted  to  be 
supported. 

The  adoption  of  a  depreciated  standard  of  value  would  at 
once  seriously  impair  the  obligations  of  all  existing  contracts, 
destroy  credit,  deprive  labor  of  employment,  expel  capital 
from  the  country,  and  so  cripple  all  our  industrial  and  commer 
cial  enterprises  that  it  would  require  many  years  to  recover 
from  its  effects,  even  if  the  injurious  legislation  should  be 
promptly  corrected.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  first  duty  of 
every  patriotic  citizen  to  contribute  all  in  his  power  to  the 
promotion  of  a  healthy  public  sentiment  upon  this  subject, 
and  while  I  may  not  be  able  to  participate  in  this  work  to 
the  same  extent  that  I  did  in  the  contest  for  tariff  reform, 


218        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

my  services  will  be  as  cheerfully  rendered  now  as  they  were 
then. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  G.  CARLISLE. 

The  contest  in  reference  to  the  financial  policy  of  the 
country  to  which  Mr.  Carlisle  referred,  engrossed  the 
attention  of  voters  in  the  campaign  of  1896.  The  Demo 
cratic  tariff  reformers,  who  supported  Mr.  Cleveland  both 
in  his  tariff  and  in  his  financial  policy,  nominated  for 
President  in  that  year  John  M.  Palmer,  of  Illinois,  and 
for  Vice-President,  Simon  B.  Buckner  of  Kentucky. 
William  J.  Bryan  was  nominated  for  President  by  the 
regular  Democratic  Convention,  and  the  Republican 
candidates  were  William  McKinley  and  Theodore  Roose 
velt.  The  latter  were  elected  and  the  country  was  thus 
committed  to  the  gold  standard. 

But  McKinley  and  his  party  chose  to  consider  the  result 
as  a  mandate  to  repeal  the  Wilson  bill,  and  revert  to  the 
policy  of  a  high  protective  tariff.  Accordingly  in  1897, 
Mr.  Dingley,  of  Maine,  who  had  become  chairman  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  in  a  Republican  House, 
introduced  a  tariff  bill  which  in  its  amended  form  restored 
wool,  lumber  and  many  other  important  free  raw  materials 
to  the  dutiable  lists;  raised  the  duties  on  flax  and  linens, 
earthenware,  glass  and  agricultural  products  beyond  the 
rates  of  1890  and  greatly  increased  the  duties  on  cotton 
and  woolen  goods. 

When  the  Census  of  1900  came  to  be  taken,  the  result 
showed  that  while  the  wages  of  working  men  during  the 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  219 

period  the  Wilson  bill  was  in  force  were  lower  than  they 
had  been  in  1893,  yet  their  purchasing  power  was  seven 
and  one  tenth  per  cent,  greater.  The  wage-earners  in  the 
factories  of  the  manufacturing  States  actually  received 
a  less  average  wage  in  1900  under  the  Dingley  bill 
than  they  had  in  1890.  The  average  in  1890  was 
$1.39  per  day;  that  in  1900  was  $1.29  per  day.  Again 
the  census  in  1900  showed  that  during  that  year 
thirty-nine  per  cent,  of  the  male  workers  of  the 
country  were  out  of  work  during  a  period  of  from  four 
to  six  months. 

It  became  every  year  more  and  more  evident  that  the 
manufacturers  of  this  country  were  selling  their  products 
at  a  much  lower  price  in  foreign  countries  (where  they  had 
to  pay  duty  and  compete  with  domestic  producers)  than 
they  would  sell  for  in  the  United  States.  I  knew  of  an 
instance,  myself,  where  steel  rails  and  fish-plates  were  sold 
for  export  and  the  manufacturer  refused  to  deliver  them 
when  it  was  found  that  the  export  order  was  canceled 
owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  railroad  for  which  they 
were  intended. 

Mr.  Schwab  testified  before  the  Industrial  Commission, 
"When  business  is  in  a  normal  condition  the  export  prices 
are  regularly  somewhat  lower  than  home  prices."  All 
these  facts  were  made  known  to  the  country  in  various 
ways.  The  newspapers  did  their  part;  the  Reform  Club 
did  its  part.  The  facts  sank  into  the  consciousness  of 
the  people.  In  1908,  the  Republican  party  promised  the 
calling  of  an  extra  session  of  Congress  to  consider  the 
tariff,  and  declared: 


220       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

In  all  tariff  legislation  the  true  principle  of  protection  is 
best  maintained  by  the  imposition  of  such  duties  as  will  equal 
the  difference  between  the  cost  of  production  at  home  and 
abroad,  together  with  a  reasonable  profit  to  American 
industries. 

The  first  part  of  the  promise  was  kept.  The  second  was 
not.  Mr.  Taft,  in  an  article  published  in  the  Cosmopolitan 
during  the  campaign,  showed  that  he  understood  the 
situation  in  principle.  He  declared : 

"Interests  which  have  fattened  on  abuses  cannot  be 
readily  disturbed  without  their  making  a  fight  for  their 
lives." 

It  was  not  for  want  of  information  that  the  Payne- 
Aldrich  bill  kept  the  word  of  promise  to  the  ear,  but  broke 
it  to  the  hope,  The  United  States  Government  had  taken 
a  census  of  manufactures  in  1905,  and  provided  us  with 
the  material  for  what  we  may  call  our  national  balance 
sheet.  Taking  this  in  thousands  of  dollars,'  it  is  as  follows : 

Total  value  produce     .          .          .     $14,802,147 
Per  Cent.        Made  up  as  follows: 

176-10    Wages $2,611,540 

3  9-10     Salaries 574, 761 

57  4-10     Material 8,503,949  11,690,250 

78  9-10     Total 

21   i-io     Net  Earnings       .          .          .          .     $  3,111,897 

In  round  numbers: 

Product,  fourteen  billions  and  a  half 

Wages,  two  billions  and  a  half 

Salaries,  half  a  billion 

Net,  three  billions. 


TARIFF  REFORM,  1888-1913  221 

The  elaborate  report  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corpora 
tion  for  the  same  year,  and  the  United  States  official 
returns  of  the  textile  industry  for  the  same  year,  corrobo 
rate  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  general  census.  It 
would  seem  sufficiently  clear  that  the  net  earnings  thus 
shown  were  sufficient  to  pay  interest  on  invested  capital, 
to  make  proper  provision  for  replacement,  to  give  the 
manufacturer  reasonable  profit  and  at  the  same  time  to 
permit  a  decided  reduction  of  duties. 

But  all  these  arguments  failed  to  convince  the  com 
mittees  of  the  two  Houses.  The  Payne-Aldrich  bill 
passed  and  was  signed  by  the  President,  Mr.  Taft.  The 
result  was  general  dissatisfaction.  It  was  felt  that  the 
Republican  party  had  violated  its  pledges.  This  senti 
ment  was  a  powerful  factor  in  the  secession  headed  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  encouraged  the  Democratic  leaders  to 
stand  by  their  guns  and  maintain  the  tariff  principles  of 
their  party. 

The  result  of  these  combined  forces  was  the  election 
in  1912  of  Woodrow  Wilson  as  President  and  of  a  Demo 
cratic  Congress. 

This  Congress  kept  the  party  pledges  and  gave  us, 
in  what  may  justly  be  called  the  Wilson-Underwood 
bill,  which  was  signed  by  the  President  in  September, 
1913,  a  measure  of  tariff  reform.  This  tariff  makes  fair 
competition  with  the  foreign  producer  possible,  and 
destroys  the  monopoly  that  the  previous  tariff  gave  to 
American  manufacturers  in  many  branches  of  industry. 
To  use  the  phrase  of  President  Wilson,  the  tariff  is  revised 
"on  the  basis  of  legitimate  competition. " 


222        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Many  raw  materials  and  necessary  articles  of  food  were 
put  on  the  free  list.  The  delusive  duties  on  corn,  wheat, 
rye,  and  flour,  which  the  McKinley  tariff  had  introduced 
as  a  bait  to  the  farmers  were  repealed.  Many  manu 
factured  products,  such  as  nails,  wire  fencing,  steel  ingots, 
steel  rails,  sewing  machines,  and  cotton  bagging,  which  are 
produced  as  cheaply  in  America  as  they  are  in  Europe 
were  put  on  the  free  list.  The  schedules  were  simplified. 

This  tariff  bill  in  large  measure  embodies  the  forecast 
of  E.  L.  Godkin,  in  1887.  After  pointing  out  the  injurious 
effect  upon  our  social  condition  which  a  high  protective 
tariff  had  produced,  he  wrote: 

What,  then,  is  to  be  done  by  way  of  remedy?  Nothing  can 
be  done  suddenly;  much  can  be  done  slowly.  We  must  re 
trace  our  steps  by  degrees,  by  taking  the  duties  off  raw  mate 
rials,  so  as  to  enable  those  manufactures  which  are  nearly  able 
to  go  alone,  to  get  out  of  the  habit  of  dependence  on  legislation, 
and  to  go  forth  into  all  the  markets  of  the  world  without  fear 
and  with  a  manly  heart.  We  must  deprive  those  manufac 
tures  which  are  able  to  go  alone  already,  of  the  protection 
which  they  now  receive,  as  the  reward  of  log-rolling  in  Con 
gress,  in  aid  of  those  still  weaker  than  themselves.  And  we 
must  finally,  if  it  be  possible,  by  a  persistent  progress  in  the 
direction  of  a  truly  natural  state  of  things,  prepare  both 
laborers  and  employers  for  that  real  independence  of  foreigners, 
which  is  the  result,  simply  and  solely,  of  native  superiority, 
either  in  energy  or  industry  or  inventiveness  or  in  natural 
advantages. 

It  shows  that  the  persistent  teaching  of  the  truth,  while 
it  may  for  a  time  seem  fruitless,  will  yet  in  the  end  bear 
abundant  harvest.  "What  is  sown  in  the  snow,  comes  up 
in  the  thaw." 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913 

A  perfect  and  just  measure  shalt  them  have. — Deuteronomy. 

BEFORE  the  Reform  Club  had  completed  its  work  of 
Tariff  Reform,  it  was  called  upon  to  equal  activity  in  the 
cause  of  Sound  Currency.  This  was  one  of  the  purposes 
for  which  the  Club  had  been  organized.  But  its  tariff 
campaign  at  first  engrossed  the  thought  and  funds  of  the 
members. 

In  order  to  understand  the  position  from  1891  to 
1896,  it  is  necessary  to  recall  briefly  the  condition  of  the 
currency  of  the  United  States.  While  the  legal  ratio 
between  gold  and  silver,  in  the  countries  of  continental 
Europe,  had  remained  unchanged  at  15^  to  I,  the 
actual  ratio,  as  measured  commercially,  had  varied. 
In  1834,  the  United  States  made  a  change  in  its  coinage 
for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  more  complete  corre 
spondence  between  the  two  metals  and  had  made  the 
ratio  1 6  to  I.  The  debates  when  that  act  was  under 
consideration  show  that  there  was  in  1834  no  gold  in 
circulation  in  the  United  States.1  The  change  in  the 
ratio  did  not  accomplish  the  desired  purpose.  From 

1  Benton,  Abridgment  Debates,  vol.  xii.,  pp.  508-510. 

223 


224       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

1834  to  1861,  silver  was  of  more  value  than  its  equivalent 
in  gold  coin  according  to  this  American  ratio,  and,  there 
fore,  until  1853  the  silver  coin  current  in  the  United 
States  was  Spanish  and  not  American  coinage,  and 
consisted  largely  of  sixpences  and  shillings  (as  we  called 
them  in  the  Middle  States).  In  the  latter  year  the  ratio 
for  subsidiary  coinage  was  changed,  and  silver  half -dimes, 
dimes,  quarter  and  half-dollars  of  American  coinage  came 
into  current  use.  The  amount  of  silver  in  the  silver  dol 
lar  was  not  changed,  but  its  coinage  was  discontinued. 
I  never  saw  a  silver  dollar  of  American  coinage  before 
the  end  of  the  Civil  War. 

Before  this  time  the  only  notes  in  circulation  in  the 
United  States  were  issued  by  state  banks.  These  banks, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Chemical  Bank  of  New  York 
City,  suspended  specie  payment  during  the  panic  of 
1837.  They  suspended  again  in  1857,  some  in  September 
and  some  in  October.  None  of  them  was  able,  before 
1 86 1,  to  maintain  the  circulation  of  its  notes  at  par  out 
side  the  district  in  which  it  was  located.  Even  bank 
notes  of  New  York  City  banks  did  not  circulate  at  par 
in  northern  and  eastern  New  England  prior  to  the 
Civil  War.  Notes  of  the  New  England  banks  were  main 
tained  at  par  in  that  section  of  the  country  by  the  Suffolk 
Bank  of  Boston,  which  had  established  in  that  city  a 
center  for  the  redemption  of  notes  payable  outside  the 
city  of  Boston,  and  in  that  way  gave  a  currency  to  the  local 
issues  which  otherwise  they  would  not  have  had.1 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  there  were  about 

1  See  David  R.  Whitney,  History  of  the  Suffolk  Bank,  passim. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  225 

$250,000,000  of  gold  coin  in  the  United  States  and  notes 
of  state  banks  of  about  $202,000,000. 

The  outbreak  of  that  war  led  the  holders  of  the  notes 
of  banks  throughout  the  country  to  demand  payment 
in  specie.  The  banks  immediately  suspended  payment. 
The  silver  coin  which  was  in  circulation  disappeared  as 
by  magic,  and  we  were  driven  to  the  use  of  postage  stamps 
for  a  circulating  medium  in  amounts  less  than  a  dollar. 
Tin  cases  were  manufactured  which  would  hold  a  postage 
stamp  and  stamps  were  placed  in  these  cases  and  circu 
lated  as  money.  The  necessity  of  the  situation  compelled 
cities,  towns,  counties  and  banks  to  issue  notes  for  less 
than  a  dollar.  The  Government  soon  made  provision  for 
the  issue  of  government  notes  of  small  amounts.  The  first 
of  these  had  the  likeness  of  postage  stamps  printed  on  them 
and  were  known  as  postal  currency.  In  February,  1862,  a 
bill  was  passed  authorizing  the  issue  of  $150,000,000  of 
United  States  notes  of  denominations  not  less  than  $5 
each,  which  were  to  be  legal  tender,  receivable  in  payment 
of  all  taxes,  and  duties  due  the  United  States  except  duties 
on  imports,  and  payable  by  the  United  States  for  all 
claims  "except  for  interest  upon  bonds  and  notes,  which 
shall  be  paid  in  coin."  The  constitutionality  of  this 
measure  was  debated  in  Congress,  but  the  bill  passed, 
was  signed  by  the  President,  and  the  notes  were  issued. 
The  back  of  these  notes  was  printed  in  green  and  they 
came  almost  immediately  to  be  known  as  greenbacks. 
In  July  of  the  same  year  an  equal  additional  amount  of 
legal-tender  notes  was  authorized.  Of  this  amount, 

$35»ooo,ooo  were  authorized  to  be  in  denominations  of 
15 


226       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

less  than  $5.  Provision  was  also  made  by  the  Acts  of 
1863-64  for  the  organization  of  national  banking  associ 
ations  which  were  authorized  to  issue  notes  as  against  the 
deposit  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  of  United 
States  Registered  Bonds  as  security.  Notes  amounting 
to  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  current  market  value  of  the 
bonds  were  to  be  registered,  countersigned,  and  issued 
by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  to  the  bank  depos 
iting  the  notes.  By  the  first  of  January,  1875,  2036 
national  banks  were  incorporated  with  a  gross  capital  of 
$503,000,000,  and  a  total  circulation  of  $342,000,000. 
These  figures  are  exclusive  of  insolvent  banks  of  which 
there  were  a  few.  But  the  provision  of  law  as  to  the 
deposit  of  bonds  made  the  notes  secure,  and  they  cir 
culated  at  par  all  over  the  country  and  were  received  as 
readily  as  the  legal-tender  notes  of  the  Government.  At 
the  same  time  the  note  issues  of  the  state  banks  were 
taxed  out  of  existence  by  a  tax  of  ten  per  cent. 

In  1873,  after  two  years*  discussion  and  full  publicity, 
the  previous  acts  authorizing  the  coinage  of  a  standard 
silver  dollar  were  repealed.  There  were  practically  no 
silver  dollars  in  circulation  at  that  time.  The  whole 
amount  that  had  been  coined  from  the  foundation  of  the 
Government  was  only  about  $8,000,000.  Shortly  after 
this,  however,  new  deposits  of  silver  were  discovered,  and 
new  processes  cheapened  the  cost  of  refining  the  ore. 
The  amount  of  silver  produced  greatly  increased.  The 
value  of  silver  bullion  diminished.  It  naturally  became 
for  the  interest  of  the  mine  owners  to  get  a  market  for 
their  product.  The  mints  of  Europe  had  suspended 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  227 

silver  coinage,  except  for  subsidiary  coin,  because  of  the 
disparity  in  intrinsic  value  at  the  existing  legal  ratio 
between  silver  and  gold  coin.  In  1877,  a  bill  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  authorizing  the  free  coinage 
of  silver  by  the  Government  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  I, 
the  silver  dollars  to  be  of  the  weight  of  412^2  grains  troy. 
This  bill  was  amended  in  the  Senate,  and  a  compromise 
adopted  which  was  known  as  the  Bland- Allison  Act, 
because  Air.  Bland,  of  Missouri,  and  Senator  Allison,  of 
Iowa,  were  its  sponsors.  This  authorized  and  directed 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  purchase  every  month 
silver  bullion  of  not  less  than  $2,000,000  nor  more  than 
$4,000,000  value  and  required  that  the  same  be  coined 
into  dollars  of  the  weight  and  fineness  before  mentioned. 
The  profit  of  this  coinage  was  to  be  covered  into  the 
Treasury.  In  this  way  mine  owners  got  a  market  for 
their  silver,  but  the  profit  on  the  coinage  went  to  the  Gov 
ernment.  That  was  the  compromise.  President  Hayes 
vetoed  the  bill,  but  it  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress 
over  the  veto  and  became  a  law,  February  28,  1878. 

The  supply  of  silver  continued  to  be  greater  than  the 
demand.  The  value  of  silver  bullion  continued  to  decline. 
Owners  of  the  mines,  their  friends  and  neighbors,  and 
many  disinterested  and  upright  men,  whom  they  had 
convinced,  agitated  for  more  legislation,  which,  to  use  the 
phrase  of  the  day,  would  "do  something  for  silver. "  The 
argument  was  that  the  demonetization  of  silver  in  1873 
had  depreciated  its  value  and  diminished  the  value  of 
all  products.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  said  the  farmers' 
mortgages  had  to  be  paid  in  gold,  and  therefore  in  a 


228       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

currency  which  was  of  really  greater  value  than  that 
in  which  it  was  contracted;  in  short  that  the  effect 
of  the  demonetization  of  silver  had  been  to  burden  the 
debtor  and  increase  the  wealth  of  the  creditor  classes. 
Many  sincere  persons  believed  this,  and  the  theory  became 
popular.  The  cost  of  living  had  decreased  but  orators 
said  it  was  harder  to  earn  a  living. 

Public  men  took  notice  of  the  popular  demand.  In 
the  paper  known  as  Judge  there  appeared  about  1887,  a 
cartoon  which  represented  the  situation  at  the  time  with 
correctness.  Benjamin  Harrison,  William  McKinley  and 
Thomas  B.  Reed  are  standing  at  a  place  where  two 
roads  diverge.  In  the  distance  the  White  House  is  to  be 
seen.  One  of  these  roads  is  marked  Gold  Standard; 
the  other  is  marked  Free  Silver.  All  three  are  evidently 
in  great  doubt  as  to  which  road  to  take.  Benjamin  Har 
rison  in  1889  arrived  at  the  White  House.  On  the  I4th 
of  July,  1890,  he  did  "something  for  silver."  He  signed 
a  bill,  which  had  passed  Congress,  directing  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury  to  buy  silver  bullion  monthly  to  the 
aggregate  amount  of  4,500,000  ounces  at  the  market 
price.  Then  the  Act,  with  a  naive  simplicity  calcu 
lated  to  catch  the  average  man  who  did  not  know  the 
price  of  silver,  stated  that  the  price  should  be  "not 
exceeding  $i.  for  371.25  grains  of  pure  silver." 
This  was  the  amount  of  pure  silver  which  went  into  the 
standard  dollar.  The  alloy  made  the  weight  412.5  grains. 
Inasmuch  as  the  market  price  of  that  amount  of  pure 
silver  when  the  bill  was  passed  was  about  55  cents,  the 
restriction  was  harmless. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  229 

In  payment  for  these  millions  of  ounces  of  bullion  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  directed  to  issue  treasury 
notes,  which  were  to  be  redeemable  on  demand  in  coin 
and  were  to  be  "legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts, 
public  and  private,  except  where  otherwise  expressly 
stipulated  in  the  contract,  and  were  to  be  receivable  for 
customs,  taxes  and  all  public  dues."  The  act  is  known 
as  the  Sherman  Act,  and  John  Sherman  of  Ohio  is  in  part 
responsible  for  it. 

This  act  made  a  fatal  inroad  upon  the  policy  of  the 
Government,  which  had  continued  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  War,  of  requiring  customs  duties  to  be  paid  in 
gold.  That  requirement  insured  the  United  States  Treas 
ury  a  stock  of  gold,  and  as  gold  was  the  only  international 
basis  of  exchange,  this  kept  our  national  treasury  on  a 
basis  which  insured  international  confidence.  It  is  a  piti 
ful  instance  of  the  tendency  of  public  men  to  yield  to 
clamor,  that  the  majority  of  the  Republicans  in  Con 
gress  and  President  Harrison  himself  should  have  allowed 
such  a  destructive  measure  to  become  a  law.  Its  inevitable 
effect  was  to  steadily  reduce  the  amount  of  gold  in  the 
Treasury.  Not  only  was  this  result  produced  by  the 
failure  to  pay  gold  in,  but  by  the  disposition  of  the  holders 
of  government  obligations  to  demand  gold.  Up  to  the 
passage  of  this  Sherman  Act,  July  14,  1890,  only  about 
$28,000,000  of  the  greenbacks  had  been  redeemed  in  gold, 
but  by  February  29,  1896,  the  amount  of  greenbacks 
presented  for  redemption  in  gold,  and  drawing  that  metal 
from  the  Treasury,  amounted  to  $381,795,733.  Yet 
under  the  Act  of  May  31,  1878,  the  Government  was 


230       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

required  to  reissue  these  greenbacks.  Thus  was  produced 
what  Mr.  Cleveland  justly  called  "an  endless  chain." 
The  greenbacks  were  presented  and  redeemed  in  gold. 
Then  the  Government  paid  them  out  again  in  discharge 
of  its  debts,  and  the  same  notes  thus  paid  out  were  brought 
back  again,  and  again  redeemed  in  gold.  The  result  was 
that  in  April,  1893,  the  amount  of  gold  in  the  Treasury 
had  fallen  to  $97,000,000.  On  June  30,  1890,  it  had  been 
$190,232,000.  This  was  the  legacy  of  financial  danger 
which  the  Republican  party  bequeathed  to  the  second 
Cleveland  Administration.  Many  Democrats  had  united 
in  the  preparation  of  this  fatal  inheritance,  but  the  Re 
publican  party  had  been  in  power  during  four  years  and 
was  responsible  for  the  legislation  of  that  epoch. 

The  Reform  Club  got  to  work  on  the  currency  in  1891. 
E.  Ellery  Anderson  had  become  president  of  the  Club. 
We  called  a  meeting  at  the  Cooper  Union  for  the  tenth 
of  February,  to  oppose  the  free  coinage  of  silver  and  to 
advocate  the  repeal  of  the  Sherman  Act.  Grover  Cleveland 
was  then  practicing  law.  David  B.  Hill  was  Governor 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  We  were  desirous  that  both 
he  and  Mr.  Cleveland  should  express  themselves  positively 
upon  this  subject  of  free  coinage.  Our  committee  was  un 
able  to  obtain  any  expression  from  Governor  Hill. 

The  delicate,  and  almost  feminine  handwriting  of 
President  Cleveland  came  near,  on  this  occasion,  depriv 
ing  the  country  of  the  benefit  of  one  of  his  most  memor 
able  letters.  He  was  absent  from  New  York  City.  Our 
invitation  was  delayed  in  reaching  him,  and  up  to  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  the  meeting  was  to  be  held 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  231 

we  had  no  word  from  him.  The  president  of  the  Club,  who 
was  at  that  time  a  trustee  of  our  public  schools,  went 
home  to  dinner  before  the  meeting  and  asked  his  wife  if 
there  were  any  letters  relating  to  the  meeting.  Her 
reply  was,  "No,  there  is  a  letter  from  one  of  your  lady 
friends,  the  teachers.  That  is  all."  "Let  me  see  it," 
said  Anderson.  He  recognized  in  an  instant  the  well- 
known  handwriting.  The  letter  is  as  follows: 


February  9,  1891. 

E.  ELLERY  ANDERSON,  Chairman, 

DEAR  SIR, 

I  have  this  afternoon  received  your  note  inviting  me  to 
attend  to-morrow  evening,  the  meeting  called  for  the  purpose 
of  voicing  the  opposition  of  the  business  men  of  our  city  to 
"the  free  coinage  of  silver  in  the  United  States." 

I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend  and  address  this  meeting  as 
you  request,  but  I  am  glad  that  the  business  interests  of  New 
York  are  at  last  to  be  heard  on  this  subject.  It  surely  cannot 
be  necessary  for  me  to  make  a  formal  expression  of  my  agree 
ment  with  those  who  believe  that  the  greatest  peril  would 
be  invited  by  the  adoption  of  the  scheme,  embraced  in  the 
measure  now  pending  in  Congress,  for  the  unlimited  coinage 
of  silver  at  our  mints. 

If  we  have  developed  an  unexpected  capacity  for  the  assimi 
lation  of  a  largely  increased  volume  of  this  currency,  and  even 
if  we  have  demonstrated  the  usefulness  of  such  an  increase, 
these  conditions  fall  far  short  of  insuring  us  against  disaster 
if,  in  the  present  situation,  we  enter  upon  the  dangerous  and 
reckless  experiment  of  free,  unlimited,  and  independent  silver 
coinage. 

Yours  very  truly, 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 


232       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  letter  came  like  a  clarion  call  in  those  times  of 
doubt  and  uncertainty,  and  was  read  at  the  meeting, 
received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  telegraphed  all 
over  the  country,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  communicating 
its  terms  at  a  dinner  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  which  I  was  invited.  The 
Charleston  business  men  were  all  for  the  gold  standard. 
The  farmers  up-state  had  been  led  to  believe  that  free 
silver  was  for  their  interest.  Charleston  men  were  dis 
couraged.  This  manly  and  courageous  stand  of  Cleve 
land  electrified  the  people  of  South  Carolina.  It  had 
seemed  that  every  public  man  was  so  afraid  of  the  strength 
of  the  free  coinage  party  that  he  did  not  dare  to  come 
forward.  When  Mr.  Cleveland,  who  had  frequently  been 
named  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1892,  took 
this  manly  ground,  every  manly  heart  responded  with 
satisfaction.  Our  friends  in  Congress  were  gradually 
drawn  into  cooperation.  William  H.  Brawley,  who 
afterwards  became  Judge  of  the  United  States  District 
Court  in  the  South  Carolina  District,  was  one  of  our  most 
effective  supporters  in  the  South. 

Michael  D.  Harter,  of  Ohio,  was  one  of  the  faithful 
members  from  that  State.  Mr.  Harter  is  best  known  in 
the  legal  history  of  the  country  as  the  author  of  the 
Harter  Act,  which  unified  the  law  of  the  United  States 
on  the  subject  of  negligence  clauses  in  bills  of  lading,  and 
the  terms  of  which  were  in  effect  adopted  in  almost  all 
commercial  countries  by  the  incorporation  of  them  in  the 
bills  of  lading  issued  in  foreign  ports. 

One  result  of  the  cooperation  of  the  friends  of  sound 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  233 

money  throughout  the  country,  Mr.  Cleveland,  Mr. 
Chas.  S.  Fairchild,  Mr.  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  Mr.  Harter,  Mr. 
Brawley  and  many  others,  was  to  secure  from  the  Demo 
cratic  National  Convention  which  met  at  Chicago  in 
1892,  a  declaration  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of  the  Sherman 
Act.  No  doubt  some  of  the  free  silver  men  thought  that 
by  repealing  that  act  they  could  more  readily  secure  a  bill 
for  the  coinage  of  silver  at  the  standard  ratio.  But  at  any 
rate  the  plank  was  adopted.  When  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
elected  in  November,  1892,  he  had  to  decide  whether  to 
bring  the  repeal  of  this  act  or  the  repeal  of  the  McKinley 
tariff  act  first  to  the  attention  of  Congress.  The  party 
was  united  on  the  tariff,  and  many  of  us  thought  that  it 
was  desirable  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  consideration  of 
that  subject.  William  C.  Whitney  and  many  of  the  men 
who  had  been  more  in  official  life  than  the  members  of  the 
Reform  Club  were  of  a  different  opinion.  Mr.  Cleveland 
took  their  advice,  not  ours,  and  when  he  called  an  extra 
session  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  repealing  the  Sherman 
Act.  The  condition  of  the  country  was  such  that  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  President  should  have  come  to  this 
decision.  To  use  the  language  of  John  DeWitt  Warner 
in  an  admirable  paper  on  the  Currency  Famine  of  1893 
which  he  prepared  for  Sound  Currency : 

Our  people  found  themselves  not  merely  drained  of  cur 
rency,  but  forbidden  by  most  carefully  drawn  statutes  to 
utilize  expedients  which  would  have  been  most  natural  and 
most  effective.  No  civilized  nation  has  ever  experienced 
such  a  currency  famine.  None  has  ever  found  itself  so 
fettered  by  positive  law  in  its  efforts  to  rescue  itself. 


234        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  effect  of  the  Sherman  Act  had  been  to  induce  the 
hoarding  of  gold.  The  fear  that  ruin  would  follow  the 
abandonment  of  the  gold  standard  was  a  prominent  factor 
in  the  failures  of  business  men  and  the  suspension  of 
national  banks.  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  again 
from  Mr.  Warner. 

Then  developed  the  feature  that  will  forever  characterize 
the  stringency  of  1893 — instructive  to  those  who  have  not 
already  learned  how  immaterial  is  any  ordinary  supply  of 
legal  currency  when  compared  with  the  credit  in  its  various 
forms,  the  real  currency  of  the  country.  For  years  business 
credit  had  been  shrinking  in  the  United  States — this  largely, 
though  by  no  means  wholly,  as  the  result  of  the  constant 
inflation  of  our  currency  by  silver  legislation  at  a  time  when 
normal  business  demands  for  currency  were  growing  less  and 
less ;  and  now  this  credit  was  largely  destroyed ;  so  that  each 
(largely  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to  which  his  lack  of  infor 
mation  left  him  a  ready  victim  to  fear)  preferred  currency  in 
hand  to  any  amount  of  credit,  however  "gilt-edged."  Almost 
between  morning  and  night  the  scramble  for  currency  had 
begun  and  culminated  all  over  the  country,  and  the  preposter 
ous  bulk  of  our  circulating  medium  had  been  swallowed  up 
as  effectually  as,  in  a  scarcely  less  brief  period,  gold  and  silver 
had  disappeared  before  the  premium  on  specie  a  generation 
before.  Currency  was  hoarded  until  it  became  so  scarce 
that  it  had  to  be  bought  as  merchandise  at  a  premium  of  i% 
to  3%  in  checks  payable  through  the  clearing  house;  and  to 
enable  their  families  to  meet  petty  bills  at  the  summer  resorts, 
the  merchants  and  professional  men  of  the  cities  were  forced 
to  purchase  and  send  by  express  packages  of  bills  or  coin, 
while  savings  banks  hawked  their  government  bond  invest 
ments  about  the  money  centers  in  a  vain  effort  to  secure 
currency.  The  panic  was  naturally  worst  among  those  of 
too  little  financial  standing  to  use  bank  accounts  for  their 
ordinary  business,  so  that  the  action  of  bank  depositors 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  235 

but  inadequately  suggests  the  general  tendency.  But  the 
deposits  in  National  Banks  alone,  which  had  been  $1,750,000,- 
ooo,  May  I,  1893,  were  but  $1,550,000,000  on  July  1st,  and 
by  October  ist,  but  $1,450,000,000. 

Then  began  the  issue  of  Clearing  House  certificates, 
issued  either  by  clearing  houses  in  the  great  cities,  or 
by  temporary  committees  of_banks.  The  latter  were 
issued  in  denominations  varying  from  $i  to  $1000.  In 
Birmingham,  Alabama,  the  issue  was  even  of  notes  for 
25  and  50  cents.  Business  men  made  their  checks  pay 
able  through  the  clearing  house.  Pay  checks  were  issued 
by  manufacturers. 

During  this  period  of  alarm  and  distress  the  House  of 
Representatives  had  organized.  William  L.  Wilson  had 
become  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
and  the  question  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  had  been 
debated  there.  In  this  debate,  Mr.  Wilson  took  an  active 
part.  I  wrote  him  a  letter  of  congratulation.  In  reply 
I  received  the  following: 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  U.  S.f 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Aug.  28,  1893. 

DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

I  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  words  of  congratulation.  I 
am  more  awed  with  the  difficulties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
position  assigned  me  than  elated  by  the  honor.  We  shall 
get  to  work  at  once.  The  debate  on  the  silver  question  has 
been  a  great  success  and  a  great  education.  Some  of  those 
who  vote  against  us  to-day,  acknowledge  privately  that  they 
are  convinced.  I  am  glad  to  read  your  views  on  the  tariff 
and  the  franchise  question. 

Hastily  but  gratefully  yours, 

W.  L.  WILSON. 


236       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  purchasing  clause  of  the 
Sherman  Act  passed  the  House  on  the  first  of  September, 
1893.  There  was  a  clear  majority  for  the  repeal  in  the 
Senate.  But  the  courtesy  of  the  Senate  allowed  the 
Senators  who  opposed  this  repeal  to  hold  the  measure  up 
by  long  speeches  in  which  not  only  the  merits  of  the 
question  but  all  possible  collateral  subjects  were  discussed. 
The  delay  in  bringing  the  measure  to  a  vote  became  so 
alarming  that  many  of  us,  who  were  active  supporters  of 
the  Administration,  and  favored  the  speedy  repeal  of  the 
Sherman  Act,  were  convinced  that  it  would  be  proper  for 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  who  was  then  Vice- 
President  Adlai  Stevenson,  to  entertain  a  motion  that  a 
vote  should  at  once  be  taken  and  to  refuse  to  allow  any 
dilatory  speeches  to  be  made  in  opposition  to  this  motion. 
We  took  the  ground  that  the  danger  and  injury  to  the 
country  caused  by  the  delay  were  so  great,  that  a  case  had 
arisen  for  the  application  of  the  maxim  that  "  self  -preser 
vation  is  the  first  law  of  nature."  We  entered  into 
communication  upon  this  subject  with  some  of  our  friends 
in  the  Senate.  The  letter  which  I  received  from  William 
F.  Vilas,  who  had  been  a  member  of  Cleveland's  Cabi 
net  during  his  first  Administration,  and  was  now  a  Demo 
cratic  Senator  from  Wisconsin,  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  the  situation. 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE, 
WASHINGTON,  October  19,  1893. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER, 

I  have  carefully  read  your  letter  of  the  i6th,  interesting  in 
its  suggestions  and  kind  in  your  expressed  opinion  of  myself, 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  237 

personally.  The  subject  has  been  present  to  my  mind  in  the  as 
pects  in  which  you  present  it,  indeed,  I  think  I  may  truthfully 
say  in  all  of  them,  since  the  time  of  the  President's  proclama 
tion.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  foreseeing  the  very  condition 
of  things  which  we  are  now  experiencing.  Before  I  left  my 
home  in  Madison,  I  made  arrangements  to  return  there,  as  I  did 
in  the  latter  part  of  September,  for  a  necessary  business  visit, 
and  I  said  then  that  it  would  be  long  before  the  repeal  could 
be  accomplished.  I  remark  this  only  to  show  how  surely  this 
deplorable  condition  has  been  the  result  of  conditions  which 
would,  if  known  as  well,  have  made  their  result  equally  certain 
of  forecast  to  any  intelligent  mind;  and  also  still  more 
particularly  in  order  to  explain  why  it  is  that  the  heroic 
course  which  you  suggest,  which,  indeed,  seems  to  be  the 
natural  yearning  of  the  troubled  mind,  cannot  be  likely  to 
succeed. 

Let  me  suggest  to  you  some  difficulties.  The  presiding 
officer  could  not  wisely  entertain  a  motion  or  an  objection 
looking  to  the  disregard  of  dilatory  motions,  or  any  of  the 
usages  of  the  Senate,  unless  certain  he  would  be  supported 
by  a  majority.  There  is  no  lack  of  courage,  either  to  press 
the  motion,  or  to  sustain  it,  providing  there  is  the  sustain 
ing  majority. 

Neither  is  it  possible  for  the  Senate  in  its  present  or  in  any 
condition  in  which  it  has  been  since  this  Congress  was  elected, 
to  be  carried  off  by  any  clearness  or  cogency  of  argument,  or 
power  of  eloquence.  Mills  made  to-day,  an  admirable,  an 
eloquent,  and  very  moving  speech.  Governor  Hill  made  a 
good  speech  yesterday,  and  appeared  to  a  better  advantage 
than  I  ever  saw  him  before.  It  would  doubtless  require 
many  such  before  a  result,  and  the  result  would  be  effected 
not  so  much  by  the  speeches  as  by  the  changing  conditions 
in  the  Senate.  The  inherent  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  majority  for  repeal  is  composed  of  patriotic  men  of  two 
very  antagonistic  political  parties,  and  the  opponents  of  re 
peal  are  composed  not  only  of  similar  elements  from  both 
of  the  old  political  parties,  but  with  a  third  party  which  is 


238       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

almost,  in  its  principles,  like  the  advance  guard  of  a  French 
Revolution. 

Superadded  to  this,  among  the  majority  for  repeal  are  many 
men  who  fought  the  Force  bill,  with  a  desperation  of  pur 
pose,  though  performance  to  so  great  an  extent  was  not 
required,  equal  to  that  which  now  animates  the  Silver  men, 
and  then  committed  themselves  to  doctrines  which  are  now 
made  avail  of  for  resistance. 

Thus  we  have  on  the  part  of  the  majority  for  repeal  the 
necessity  for  separate  conferences  in  the  separate  divisions, 
with  the  jealousies  necessarily  intervening.  All  history 
shows  with  what  difficulty  allied  armies  contend  together 
against  the  foe.  The  opposition  occupies  the  inner  lines. 
Their  alliance  is  bound  compactly  by  the  external  pressure, 
and  if  you  look  through  the  names  of  those  engaged  you  will 
see  from  the  States  which  they  represent,  and  other  circum 
stances,  not  to  be  particularized,  a  desperation  which  is 
entirely  incompatible  with  the  character  of  the  United  States 
Senator  as  that  character  would  appear  to  you  or  me  to  be. 

I  have  thus  but  barely  indicated  what  your  reflection  will 
supply,  of  the  trying  conditions  under  which  the  repeal  has 
been  pressed,  as  the  problem  for  the  Senate  to  execute. 

My  hope  of  a  fairly  satisfactory  result,  notwithstanding, 
has  never  been  lost  from  the  first,  and  to-day  is  stronger 
perhaps  than  ever.  It  is  a  pity  the  country  must  undergo  the 
pangs  of  anxiety  which  the  conditions  impose  in  the  necessary 
delay.  I  entertain,  however,  a  very  warm  expectation  of  a 
fairly  good  result.  Accept  my  thanks  for  the  very  kind 
personal  expression  which  you  have  been  good  enough  to 
bestow,  and  which,  as  well  as  your  conspicuous  deserts,  have 
led  me  to  think  it  due  that  I  should  add  something  of  the  rea 
sons  upon  which  I  think  you  may  justly  support  your  patience. 

Yoursjvery  truly, 

WILLIAM  F.  VILAS. 

Soon  after  this  the  cry  for  relief  coming  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  led  the  recalcitrant  Senators  to  feel  that 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  239 

they  could  not  longer  withstand  the  demand  for  a  vote.1 
The  House  bill  passed  the  Senate  with  some  amendment 
at  the  end  of  October.  It  went  back  to  the  House,  and  the 
repeal  finally  took  effect  on  the  first  of  November.  It  was 
high  time,  for  already  on  the  first  of  July,  while  the  gold 
in  the  Treasury  had  fallen  to  $110,109,923,  the  silver 
dollars  in  the  Treasury  were  $362,302,707.  That  is  to 
say,  already  we  had  in  the  Treasury  three  and  one-half 
times  as  much  silver  as  gold. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  repeal  of  the  Sherman 
Act  was  not  enough.  The  agitation  for  unlimited  free 
coinage  of  silver  continued,  and  on  the  first  of  February, 
1894,  the  gold  reserve  had  fallen  below  $66,000,000. 
Ruin  threatened  as  a  consequence  of  the  discontinuance  of 
payment  in  gold  and  the  inability  of  the  country  to  do 
what  Section  Two  of  the  Sherman  Act  declared  "the 
established  policy  of  the  United  States,  to  maintain  the 
two  metals  on  parity  with  each  other  on  the  present  legal 
ratio  or  such  ratio  as  may  be  provided  by  law."  The 
country's  deliverance  was  chiefly  due  to  six  men,  three  in 
public  office  and  three  out  of  it.  Grover  Cleveland,  the 
President,  John  G.  Carlisle,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
William  E.  Curtis,  Assistant  Secretary,  J.  Pierpont  Mor 
gan,  August  Belmont  and  Francis  Lynde  Stetson.  They 
had  a  host  of  supporters,  but  had  it  not  been  for  their 
wisdom  and  dauntless  courage  the  result  could  not  have 

1  In  June,  1913,  Robert  L.  Owen,  Senator  from  Oklahoma  proposed  a  rule 
providing  for  closing  debate  upon  motion  for  that  purpose,  upon  notice  of 
not  less  than  a  week  "unless  within  the  last  two  weeks  of  the  session." 
He  made  an  excellent  speech  in  support  of  this  rule.  See  his  article  in 
National  Monthly,  July,  1913. 


240       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

been  accomplished.  It  was  Mr.  Curtis  who  discovered 
that  there  was  a  clause  in  the  Act  of  January  14,  1875, 
providing  for  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  which 
authorized  the  Secretary]  of  [the  Treasury  to  issue,  sell  and 
dispose  of  at  not  less  than  par  "in  coin"  certain  bonds  of 
the  United  States  which  were  designated  in  a  previous 
act.  These  were  5%  ten-year,  4>£%  fifteen-year,  4% 
thirty-year  bonds. 

President  Cleveland  urged  Congress  to  pledge  the  credit 
of  the  country  to  the  redemption  in  gold  of  the  bonds  to  be 
issued,  but  this  Congress  refused  to  do,  and  he  therefore 
had  to  issue  bonds  at  a  lower  rate  than  if  they  had  been 
payable  in  gold.  In  January,  1894,  $50,000,000  of  five 
per  cent,  bonds  were  offered  for  sale.  Bids  for  these  were 
accepted  February  3,  1894,  a^  a  premium,  mostly  at 
117.223.  One  amusing  bid  came  from  Wichita,  Kansas. 
It  was  for  fifty  dollars  at  200.  One  would  like  to  know 
what  became  of  that  fifty-dollar  bond.  By  that  time  the 
reserve  had  fallen  below  $66,000,000.  The  endless 
chain,  which  has  been  described,  gradually  took  out  of  the 
Treasury  the  gold  which  had  been  received  for  the  sale  of 
the  fifty  millions.  The  price  of  these  bonds  fluctuated. 
It  went  up  to  119,  and  fell  at  one  time  to  112.  In 
November,  1894,  fifty  millions  more  of  five  per  cent,  bonds 
were  sold,  also  at  a  premium  117.077,  and  their  price, 
$58,500,000  in  gold  was  added  to  the  Treasury. 

Lyman  J.  Gage  told  me  that  John  A.  Stewart,  who 
was  then  President  of  the  United  States  Trust  Company, 
and  preceded  Mr.  Gage  in  that  office,  was  one  of  the 
most  active  men  in  effecting  the  sale  of  this  issue  of  bonds. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  241 

He  subscribed  largely  for  his  own  Trust  Company  and 
personally  went  to  the  Presidents  of  other  banks  and 
trust  companies  urging  them  to  take  their  quota.  The 
reply  was  made  by  some  that  they  would  not  subscribe 
for  any  more.  That  the  bonds  which  they  had  bought 
in  February  had  fallen  below  the  price  they  gave  and 
that  the  free-silver  agitation  was  so  persistent  that  they 
felt  the  credit  of  the  Government  was  gone.  Stewart 
replied  that  the  credit  of  the  Government  would  be  gone 
unless  the  banks  sustained  it,  but  that  if  they  would 
sustain  it,  it  would  stand.  If  they  did  not  sustain  it,  all 
their  securities  would  depreciate  in  value  and  their  stock 
holders  and  depositors  and  indeed  the  whole  country  would 
suffer  incalculable  loss.  He  convinced  Gage  that  the 
Bank  in  Chicago,  of  which  he  was  President,  should  do  its 
part,  and  it  did,  and  the  issue  was  taken.  But  the  end 
less  chain  continued  in  operation,  and  gold  continued 
to  go  out  of  the  Treasury.  It  became  plain  that 
unless  some  extraordinary  measure  was  adopted  the  last 
dollar  of  gold  would  leave  the  Treasury  before  the 
end  of  four  weeks,  and  we  should  then  be  on  a  silver 
basis.  A  silver  dollar  was  worth  intrinsically  not  more 
than  one  half  a  dollar  in  gold.  If  we  had  been  driven  to 
pay  all  our  obligations  in  silver,  the  value  of  every  piece 
of  property  in  the  country  would  have  depreciated 
fifty  per  cent.  Mr.  Curtis  went  to  New  York  re 
peatedly  and  studied  the  situation  carefully.  In  June, 
1896,  he  testified  before  an  investigating  committee  of 
the  Senate1: 

1  Pamphlet  Report  of  Proceedings  and  Hearings,  p.  248. 
16 


242        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

At  that  time  [January,  1895],  there  was  great  excitement  in 
New  York;  there  was  a  panic,  practically,  among  certain 
people  and  everybody  was  in  a  state  of  unrest.  These  people 
had  gathered  there  because  they  had  heard  that  I  was  coming 
to  the  sub-treasury  in  the  morning  and  they  wanted  to  see  me. 
They  were  engaged  in  the  banking  business  and  particularly 
in  the  exporting  of  gold,  which  was  being  exported  in  large 
quantities  at  that  time. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  January,  he  met  J.  P.  Morgan  and 
August  Belmont  at  Mr.  Jordan's  office  at  the  sub-treasury 
and  conferred  with  them  as  to  the  most  effective  means  of 
sustaining  the  government  credit. 

Mr.  Morgan  said  that  he  would  cooperate  with  Mr.  Bel 
mont  and  do  what  he  could,  and  see  whether  they  could 
not  get  a  market  for  some  bonds  abroad  and  that  mean 
while  he  would  make  some  inquiries.1 

Curtis  returned  to  Washington,  conferred  with  Carlisle, 
returned  to  New  York,  and  met  Morgan  and  Belmont  at 
the  former's  house  on  the  second  of  February.  They 
told  him  they  could  sell  bonds  abroad.  To  quote  again 
from  Curtis 's  testimony: 

They  said  they  thought  they  could  sell  fifty  million  dol 
lars  bonds,  with  an  option  for  the  same  amount  as  I  recollect 
it,  and  they  were  to  be  thirty-year  bonds  at  a  lower  rate 
of  interest  than  the  fives  that  had  been  previously  issued, 
because  the  foreign  market  desired  lower  rates  of  interest.2 

By  this  time  Curtis  had  found  another  method  of  deal 
ing  with  the  situation.  Section  3700  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  provided: 

1  Pamphlet  Report  of  Proceedings  and  Hearings,  p.  248. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  250. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  243 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may  purchase  coin  with 
any  of  the  bonds  or  notes  of  the  United  States,  authorized 
by  law,  at  such  rates,  and  upon  such  terms,  as  he  may  deem 
most  advantageous  to  the  public  interest. 

By  this  time  also  the  situation  had  become  more  acute. 
The  Republican  party,  in  Congress,  gave  no  support  to 
Cleveland.  The  Populists  and  free-silver  men  bitterly 
reviled  him  and  his  financial  policy,  in  speeches  which  were 
published  here  and  cabled  to  Europe.  All  this  naturally 
led  foreign  bankers  to  doubt  the  honesty  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  fear  that  we  might  go  into  bankruptcy  and 
pay  our  debts  at  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

To  quote  from  Brayton  Ives,  who  kept  in  touch  with 
the  situation  and  was  a  subscriber  to  one  of  the  bond 
issues x : 

Such  was  the  critical  state  of  affairs  in  the  last  of  January, 
when  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  came  to  New 
York  charged  with  the  imperative  duty  of  providing  at  once 
for  the  Treasury's  necessities.  The  course  of  events  above 
described  had  increased  a  hundred-fold  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  of  the  situation.  The  reckless  and  unprincipled 
speeches  in  Congress  were  constantly  augmenting  the  existing 
uneasiness  in  financial  circles,  and  every  day  brought  fresh 
demands  on  the  Government's  rapidly  diminishing  reserves  of 
gold.  In  fact,  so  far  did  this  go  that  there  was  virtually  a 
run  on  the  Treasury.  And  more  than  this — the  Treasury  was 
practically  in  a  state  of  suspension  so  far  as  gold  payments 
were  concerned.  That  this  condition  was  not  published  was 
due  to  the  feeling  that  such  an  announcement  would  probably 
precipitate  a  crisis  and  bring  universal  disaster.  Only  a 
comparatively  small  number  knew  the  full  gravity  of  the  situa 
tion.  It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  no  such  great  appre- 

-1  Yale  Review,  May,  1895. 


244       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

hension  has  been  felt  by  those  few  since  the  days  of  the  war. 
The  alarm  was  all  the  more  dangerous  because  it  was  sup 
pressed.  No  one  could  tell  at  what  moment  it  might  break 
out  and  get  beyond  control.  The  gold  reserve  on  Monday, 
January  28th,  was  $56,069,995.  In  five  days  the  with 
drawals  amounted  to  $14,180,000,  leaving  on  hand  only 
$41,889,  995,  or  less  than  three  days'  supply  at  the  same  ratio. 
And  of  this  relatively  small  sum  all  of  the  coin  was  represented 
by  outstanding  certificates,  the  remainder  being  in  small 
gold  bars  and  not  available,  therefore,  for  the  redemption  of 
the  obligations  of  the  Government.  In  other  words,  the 
United  States  Treasury  had  reached  a  point  where  it  was 
possible  for  any  one  of  a  half  dozen  of  our  large  corporations 
to  have  forced  upon  it  at  once  a  public  confession  of  its  inability 
to  meet  its  engagements. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  American  finance  when  a 
consultation  took  place  at  Washington,  February  7,  1895, 
between  Cleveland,  Carlisle,  Curtis,  Morgan,  Belmont 
and  Stetson.  Richard  Olney,  the  Attorney-General,  also 
participated.  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  and  August  Belmont 
never  rendered  the  country  a  greater  public  service  than 
by  coming  then  into  the  breach.  Morgan  was  a  Republi 
can,  Belmont  a  Democrat,  but  patriotism  united  those 
whom  politics  had  divided. 

An  agreement  was  made  by  which  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  for  themselves,  and  for  J.  S.  Morgan  &  Co.,  of 
London;  and  August  Belmont  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  for  them 
selves  and  for  N.  M.  Rothschild  &  Son,  of  London,  were  to 
sell  and  deliver  to  the  Government  3,500,000  ounces  of 
standard  gold  coin  of  the  United  States,  to  be  paid  for  in  bonds 
bearing  annual  interest  at  the  rate  of  four  per  cent.,  per  annum, 
and  payable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Government  after  thirty 
years  from  their  date,  such  bonds  to  be  issued  and  delivered 
from  time  to  time  as  the  gold  coin  to  be  furnished  was  deposited 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  245 

by  said  parties  in  the  sub-treasuries  or  other  legal  depositories 
of  the  United  States.  At  least  one-half  of  the  coin  so  de 
livered  was  to  be  obtained  in  Europe,  and  shipped  from 
there  in  amounts  not  less  than  300,000  ounces  per  month, 
at  the  expense  and  risk  of  the  parties  furnishing  the  same; 
and  so  far  as  it  was  in  their  power  they  were  to  "exert 
all  financial  influence  and  make  all  legitimate  efforts  to  pro 
tect  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  against  the  with 
drawals  of  gold  pending  the  complete  performance  of  the 
contract."1 

Stetson  testified  on  the  investigation  which  I 
mentioned2: 

SENATOR  VEST:  You  say  you  saw  this  contract?  Was  it 
typewritten  ? 

MR.  STETSON:  I  saw  it  growing;  I  helped  dictate  it;  I 
dictated  part  of  it,  and  Mr.  Curtis  dictated  part.  I  saw  it, 
as  I  say,  growing.  The  stenographer  went  out  of  the  room 
and  wrote  it  out  and  brought  it  back  into  the  room.  When 
it  was  brought  back  all  were  present — the  Attorney-General 
(Mr.  Olney),  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  Mr.  Curtis, 
Mr.  Morgan  and  myself.  Mr.  Belmont  had  not  yet  arrived. 
Thereupon  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (Mr.  Carlisle)  and 
Mr.  Olney  took  the  paper,  went  out  of  the  room,  and  consid 
ered  it,  I  should  say,  half  an  hour  and  came  back  and  made 
some  suggestions;  among  others,  the  suggestion  about  pro 
tecting  the  Treasury,  which  Mr.  Morgan  accepted. 

SENATOR  VEST  :  You  say  you  made  suggestions  in  regard  to 
the  contract. 

MR.  STETSON:  I  think  the  first  part  of  the  contract  was 
entirely  my  dictation.     I  opened  the  volume  containing  Mr. 
Sherman's  previous  contract  (that  of  1878)  with  Mr.  Belmont 
and  Mr.  Morgan.     I  dictated  from  Mr.  Sherman's  contract, 
with  the  necessary  changes  down  to  the  point  where  the  pro- 
Cleveland,  Presidential  Problems,  pp.  152-153. 
a  Pamphlet  Report,  p.  278. 


246       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

tecting  clause  comes  in ;  that  is  to  say  down  through  the  formal 
part  of  the  document.  As  the  contract  is  here  I  can  identify 
the  portion  with  exactness.  When  I  got  down  to  the  protect 
ing  clause,  I  said  to  Mr.  Curtis,  "This  is  the  Government's 
contract;  what  do  you  want  to  do?" 

SENATOR  WALTHALL  (handing  a  book  to  witness) :  Look  in 
that  book,  please,  and  identify  the  contract. 

MR.  STETSON  (referring  to  page  46  of  the  volume  of  this 
investigation):  I  dictated  down  to  and  including  the  line: 
"  First,  such  purchase  and  sale  of  gold  coin  being  made  on 
the  following  conditions. "  Then  I  stopped.  I  said,  "What 
are  the  conditions  that  the  Government  makes?"  Down  to 
that  point  I  had  been  anxious  to  see  that  the  legal  basis  for  a 
contract  was  there.  I  had  carefully  considered  section  3700 
of  the  Revised  Statues.  I  had  read  the  reports  of  the  debates 
from  the  time  that  Secretary  Chase  had  first  sent  in  the 
original  draft  of  the  law  to  Congress  through  Mr.  Stevens,  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  in  March,  1862.  I  followed  that 
through  all  the  reports  of  the  conference  committees,  including 
the  disputes  that  arose  between  Thaddeus  Stevens  and  Senator 
Fessenden  which  finally  led  to  Mr.  Stevens  going  off  the 
committee,  stating  that  he  would  not  act  any  further  on  the 
conference.  As  I  have  stated,  I  reached  the  conclusion  that 
that  formed  the  legal  basis  of  the  contract.  When  I  had 
reached  that  point,  I  said,  "My  part  is  done.  Now  let  the 
Government  make  its  contract." 

SENATOR  WALTHALL  :  Did  Mr.  Morgan  state  to  you  at  any 
time  before  you  left  here  for  Washington  that  he  wanted  you 
to  go  there  and  supervise  the  drawing  of  a  contract  between 
him  and  the  Treasury  Department  ? 

MR.  STETSON:  Before  I  answer  that  question,  which  I  shall 
do  almost  immediately,  I  wish  to  say  this:  Of  course,  Senator, 
you  are  too  great  a  lawyer  to  suppose  I  would  answer  that 
question  as  to  what  my  client  said  to  me  unless  I  were  free  to 
do  so.  I  have  consulted  Mr.  Morgan,  and  Mr.  Morgan  has 
advised  me  that  I  may  answer  any  question. 

SENATOR  VEST:  We  understand,  of  course,  what  the  rule  is, 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  247 

and  that  you  can  avail  yourself  of  your  privilege  in  the  matter 
or  not,  as  you  choose. 

MR.  STETSON:  Not  my  privilege. 

SENATOR  VEST  :  I  am  speaking  of  your  professional  privilege. 

MR.  STETSON:  It  is  my  client's,  and  he  has  released  me. 
I  will  now  answer.  I  will  say  to  you,  as  I  have  said  before, 
that  Mr.  Morgan/ on  the  morning  of  Monday,  February  4th, 
asked  me  to  go  to  Washington  as  his  counsel,  saying  that  the 
question  was  coming  up  as  to  an  issue  of  bonds.  I  had  never 
had  a  word  with  him  before  that  time  on  the  subject;  indeed 
I  had  been  out  of  the  city  and  had  returned  only  Sunday 
night.  Upon  that  I  went  with  him.  He  said,  "There  may  be 
papers  to  be  drawn,  and  I  want  you."  I  asked  no  further 
questions,  but  went. 

As  I  read  this  account  I  can  see  the  great  room  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  looking  south  over  the  Potomac 
to  the  Arlington  Hills ;  I  can  see  Morgan,  his  massive  head 
— the  embodiment  of  power;  Belmont,  keen,  self-possessed, 
quiet  in  manner,  yet  with  the  undercurrent  of  swift 
activity ;  Stetson,  the  wise  counselor,  with  his  kindly  face, 
and  shrewd  smile, — all  fully  conscious  of  the  gravity  of  the 
financial  condition  and  the  need  of  prompt  action,  and 
resolute  to  do  their  duty  regardless  of  hazard.  If  men 
appreciated  real  moral  grandeur,  that  group  of  men  in 
the  Treasury  at  Washington  would  bulk  as  large  in  his 
tory  as  Wellington,  Hill  and  Picton  on  Mont  Saint  Jean,  at 
Waterloo,  or  Mead,  Hancock,  Sedgwick  and  Hunt  in  the 
old  farmhouse  on  the  Taneytown  Pike  south  of  Gettys 
burg.  It  was  cheap  and  easy  when  victory  had  been  won 
and  the  country's  credit  reestablished  to  revile  the 
parties  to  this  contract  for  having  made  money.  But 
what  if  they  had  lost.  What  if  free  silver  had  triumphed 


248        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

in  1896,  and  the  bonds  for  which  they  paid  a  premium  in 
gold  had  been  paid  in  a  fifty-cent  silver  dollar?  This  was 
the  risk  they  ran.  All  honor  to  the  patriotism  and  courage 
that  inspired  them  to  run  it.  Honor  above  all  to  our 
great  leader  in  that  glorious  war — Grover  Cleveland. 

This  contract  did  the  business.  The  enemies  of  the 
country's  credit  saw  that  at  last  the  whole  financial 
power  of  Europe  and  America  was  united  in  its  support. 
Against  such  a  combination  their  efforts  were  futile,  and 
they  ceased. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  task  undertaken 
by  Morgan  and  Belmont  and  their  associates  was  easy  or 
financially  profitable,  even  in  its  successful  result.  To 
quote  again  from  Stetson x : 

The  maintenance  of  the  syndicate  stipulation  to  protect 
the  gold  reserve  from  withdrawal,  was  so  costly  that  the 
American  syndicate  realized  only  five  per  cent,  in  interest, 
and  that  its  counsel  never  asked  or  received  anything  for 
the  discharge  of  what  in  his  judgment  then,  as  now,  was  a 
patriotic  duty. 

By  this  time  the  wave  of  popularity  which  carried 
Grover  Cleveland  into  the  White  House  had  spent  its 
force.  He  was  bitterly  assailed  on  every  side.  Partisans 
complained  because  he  could  not  satisfy  all  the  applicants 
for  office.  On  the  other  hand  many  reformers  thought 
that  he  yielded  too  much  to  political  considerations,  and 
charged  that  he  had  used  the  patronage  of  the  Govern 
ment  to  effect  the  passage  of  the  bill  repealing  the  Sherman 
Act  of  1890. 

1  Address,  N.  Y.  Chamber  of  Commerce,  June  I,  1911. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  249 

The  free-silver  men  attacked  him.  He  had  been 
their  persistent  opponent  since  his  first  annual  message 
(December  8,  1885),  in  which  he  pointed  out  the  disastrous 
consequences  which  were  sure  to  follow  from  a  continuance 
of  the  policy  embodied  in  the  Bland  bill  of  1878,  which 
required  the  purchase  and  coinage  of  not  less  than  two 
million  dollars  worth  of  silver  bullion  per  month.  The 
consequences  Cleveland  then  predicted  came.  The  finan 
cial  safety  of  the  country  was  jeopardized.  Capital 
began  to  shrink  from  trade.  Investors  became  unwilling 
to  take  the  chance  of  the  questionable  shape  in  which  their 
money  might  be  returned  to  them. 

These  causes  culminated  in  the  panic  of  1893.  Cleve 
land  was  in  office  and  inconsiderate  people  held  him  re 
sponsible  for  that  which  he  had  done  his  utmost  to  avert. 

Again,  Hill's  course  in  the  Senate  had  been  unfavor 
able.  As  the  sole  Democratic  Senator  from  his  own 
State,  this  was  especially  embarrassing.  If  he  had  con 
tinued  that  loyal  support  of  Mr.  Cleveland  which  he 
expressed  in  his  message  of  January  6,  1885,  and  in  his 
speech  at  the  Young  Men's  Democratic  Club,  March  27, 
1885,  he  would  have  rendered  his  country  service. 

By  the  sixteenth  of  April,  1894,  ^  seemed  as  if  the 
vision  splendid  which  attended  Mr.  Cleveland  when  he 
came  into  office  had  faded  into  the  light  of  common  day.  I 
felt  it  my  duty  to  write  an  article  for  the  Times,  which  was 
published  that  day,  in  which  I  defended  the  Administra 
tion  and  expressed  my  faith  not  only  in  the  sincerity  but 
the  wisdom  of  Cleveland.  I  gave  this  description  of  one 
of  his  most  serious  difficulties: 


250       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

There  is  one  difficulty  Mr.  Cleveland  has  had  to  face — which 
I  mention  last — the  opposition  of  a  small  band  of  Democratic 
malcontents.  They  may  fairly  be  called  Mugwumps,  inverted 
Mugwumps,  for  they  are  not  bound  by  party  ties  nor  amenable 
to  party  discipline.  That  Senator  Hill  should  be  their  leader 
is  natural.  Those  who  know  him,  and  have  watched  his 
devious  career,  know  that  he  is  a  Hill  man,  and  not  a  Demo 
crat.  Never  has  he  for  the  sake  of  Democratic  principle  given 
up  one  jot  of  Hill  interest  or  Hill  revenue.  But  "that  Jemmy 
Twitcher  should  peach,  I  own,  surprises  me."  Mr.  Berry  of 
Arkansas  has  recently  made  an  appeal  for  reelection  on  the 
ground  that  he  is  a  consistent,  loyal  Democrat.  Yet  he  com 
bined  with  a  small  minority  of  his  own  party  and  a  large 
majority  of  the  Republicans  to  embarrass  and  thwart  the  only 
Democratic  Administration  we  have  had  for  over  thirty  years. 

All  the  more  let  those  who  do  favor  a  tariff  for  revenue, 
free  trade,  and  sound  currency,  the  traditional  doctrines  of 
the  Democratic  party,  rally  round  the  Administration,  and 
give  it  that  support  and  confidence  without  which  no 
Administration  can  hope  to  succeed. 

To  my  great  surprise  I  received  the  next  day  the  follow 
ing  letter  in  Cleveland's  own  handwriting: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON, 
April  1 6,  1894. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER, 

I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  your  letter  in 
the  New  York  Times  of  to-day. 

It  is  very  refreshing  in  the  midst  of  much  misconception 
and  prejudice  and  ignorance  and  injustice  to  know  that  there 
are  some  who  are  inclined  to  be  just  and  fair. 

There  never  was  a  man  in  this  high  office  so  surrounded 
with  difficulties  and  so  perplexed  and  so  treacherously  treated 
and  so  abandoned  by  those  whose  aid  he  deserves,  as  the  present 
••ncumbent. 

But  there  is  a  God,  and  the  patriotism  of  the  American 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  251 

people  is  not  dead;  nor  is  all  truth  and  virtue  and  sincerity 
gone  out  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  delay  may  be  dis 
couraging  and  our  faith  may  be  sorely  tried,  but  in  the  end,  we 
shall  see  the  light. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

This  letter  I  cherish  as  one  of  my  most  precious 
possessions. 

One  phrase  of  his  at  the  time  of  the  opposition  he 
encountered  in  the  Senate  is  worth  recording.  When 
some  of  his  friends  urged  upon  him  the  expediency  of 
conceding  more  to  the  Hill  faction  in  the  Senate  than  Mr. 
Cleveland  thought  right,  he  answered:  "I  was  not  elected 
President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate.*'  He  always  felt  that  he  represented  the  Ameri 
can  people,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  maintain  the 
interests  of  the  whole  people  against  every  local  faction 
and  special  interest. 

Meanwhile  Charles  S.  Fairchild  had  become  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Sound  Currency  of  the  Reform  Club. 
E.  Ellery  Anderson,  Henry  deForest  Baldwin,  William 
J.  Coombs,  James  Speyer,  Calvin  Tomkins,  William  L. 
Trenholm,  John  DeWitt  Warner,  Horace  White,  Louis 
Windmuller  and  myself  were  among  the  members. 

After  careful  consideration  we  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  important,  not  only  to  defeat  the  advocates 
for  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  but  to  educate  the  country 
on  the  subject  of  the  whole  financial  system.  We  had 
numerous  offers  of  cooperation  from  outside  individuals, 
committees  and  organizations.  We  kept  in  touch  with 


252       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

them,  supplied  them  with  speakers  and  with  literature. 
We  began  with  holding  meetings  at  the  Reform  Club, 
and  with  the  delivery  of  addresses  there.  One  of  the 
most  effective  of  these  was  from  the  chairman  of  the 
committee. 

The  election  of  1894  resulted  in  the  return  of  a  Republi 
can  House  of  Representatives.  The  Democratic  party 
had  become  hopelessly  divided  on  the  currency.  It 
became  all  the  more  important  for  sound-money  Demo 
crats  to  stand  to  their  guns  and  we  did.  The  public  inter 
est  in  the  question  of  sound  currency  had  greatly  increased, 
and  the  Reform  Club  received  invitations  from  all  over 
the  country  to  provide  speakers  at  meetings  held  to  con 
sider  the  subject.  An  effective  series  was  one  of  forty 
meetings  held  in  Indiana  and  addressed  by  William 
D.  Bynum,  who  had  been  a  member  of  Congress  from  that 
State,  and  was  one  of  our  most  loyal  friends. 

Among  the  best  pamphlets  which  we  published  as  part 
of  our  periodical  known  as  Sound  Currency,  which  was 
issued  monthly,  was  a  paper  by  Horace  White  on  National 
State  Banks;  another  by  Henry  L.  Nelson,  who  was  then 
editor  of  Harper's  Weekly,  and  afterwards  Professor  of 
Economics  at  Williams  College,  on  Bi-metallism  in  His 
tory,  one  by  John  DeWitt  Warner  on  the  Currency 
Famine  of  1893,  and  another  by  William  L.  Trenholm 
on  The  People's  Money.  In  all,  we  issued  twenty-four 
pamphlets  and  published  1,637,000  copies  during  the  year 
ending  November  30,  1895.  We  had  a  subscription 
list  for  Sound  Currency  of  15,000.  We  sent  out  advance 
copies  of  this  periodical,  together  with  a  synopsis,  to  the 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  253 

principal  newspapers  of  the  country.  We  furnished 
newspapers  with  copies  for  distribution.  We  supplied 
broadside  supplements  sufficient  to  accompany  the  full 
editions  of  cooperating  local  papers  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  They  had  an  aggregate  circulation  of  563,800, 
and  we  thus  distributed  nearly  3,000,000  printed  sheets. 

Another  method  of  circulating  literature  was  through 
"plate  matter"  agencies.  A  full  newspaper  page  at  a 
time  was  sent  to  papers  with  from  1000  to  10,000  cir 
culation.  We  supplied  these  to  648  newspapers  with  an 
aggregate  circulation  of  925,017.  We  had  a  special  bureau 
for  cartoons.  A  corps  of  artists  headed  by  Mr.  Dan 
Beard  tried  to  keep  up  with  the  constant  demand.  We 
circulated  publications  of  other  houses,  not  only  from  our 
New  York  office  but  from  an  office  which  we  opened  in 
Washington.  We  sent  literature  to  delegates  to  different 
conventions  in  the  different  States  and  put  in  circulation 
about  300,000  copies  of  a  speech  of  Mr.  Carlisle,  in  Ken 
tucky,  and  of  Mr.  Hoke  Smith,  in  Georgia.  He  is  now 
(1916)  Senator  from  that  State. 

The  total  of  our  circulation  during  the  year  1894-95 
was  over  9,700,000  sheets,  the  majority  of  which  were 
illustrated.  Following  the  example  of  the  Tariff  Reform 
Committee  we  compiled  a  currency  Red  Book  which 
was  useful  to  speakers  and  contained  the  best  of  the 
literature  published  by  the  Reform  Club  on  the  subject 
of  the  currency.  In  view  of  all  the  discussion  that  has 
since  taken  place  in  regard  to  our  banking  system,  we  are 
proud  to  have  issued  as  long  ago  as  March,  1895,  the 
following  platform: 


254        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Pledged  to  oppose  all  fiat  money,  we  recognize  in  the  legal- 
tender  greenback  the  worst  form  of  such  currency,  and  urge 
the  payment  by  Government  of  its  demand  notes,  and  their 
final  withdrawal  from  circulation,  as  the  financial  reform  first 
in  importance. 

We  appreciate  that  attempts  to  secure  forced  currency 
for  depreciated  silver,  or  to  regulate  by  law  the  value  of  silver 
as  compared  with  gold,  are  most  virulent  phases  of  fiat  money 
agitation;  and  we  consider  provision  for  a  safe  and  elastic 
bank-note  currency  as  not  merely  a  desirable  adjunct  of 
greenback  retirement,  but  a  proper  means  to  obviate  any  fear 
that  our  currency  may  become  too  restricted. 

Perhaps  no  political  work  was  ever  done  more  economi 
cally  than  the  work  of  this  Sound  Currency  Committee. 
During  the  year  ending  November  30,  1895,  our  total 
expenses  were  only  $52,029.05. 

Never  was  there  a  more  unselfish  or  more  successful 
political  propaganda  than  that  of  the  Reform  Club  from 
its  organization  down  to  the  end  of  1896.  If  leaders  of 
the  Democratic  organization  in  New  York  had  possessed 
political  vision  they  would  have  recognized  the  power 
of  the  political  sentiment  which  the  Reform  Club  repre 
sented,  and  selected  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States 
Senate,  in  January,  1894,  when  the  Legislature  again 
became  Democratic,  a  man  like  Rufus  W.  Peckham, 
Frederic  R.  Coudert,  E.  Ellery  Anderson,  or  Charles 
S.  Fairchild.  But  Mr.  Hill,  with  all  his  acuteness,  had  a 
narrow  mind.  To  use  the  phrase  of  Rudyard  Kipling — 
"There  was  too  much  Ego  in  his  cosmos. "  He  was  jeal 
ous  of  Cleveland.  He  failed  to  see  that  even  from  the 
most  selfish  standpoint  the  cooperation  of  Cleveland  and 
his  friends  was  as  important  to  him  as  his  was  to  them. 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  255 

Accordingly  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  Cleveland  him 
self,  and  of  his  friends  in  the  State  of  New  York,  Hill  put 
forward  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate, 
Edward  Murphy,  of  Troy.  He  was  elected  in  January, 
1894.  He  was  a  dummy  in  the  Senate,  voted  as  Hill 
directed,  and  had  no  mind  for  anything  superior  to  the 
collars  and  cuffs  which  were  manufactured  by  his  Troy 
constituents.  He  secured  a  good  duty  on  the  foreign 
article.  That  was  his  achievement  as  a  Senator  from  the 
Empire  State.  The  result  was  the  complete  defeat  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  Novem 
ber  election  of  1894  an<3  the  ultimate  retirement  of  Hill 
from  politics.  His  rise  and  fall  furnish  a  useful  study  for 
ambitious  politicians. 

The  Reform  Club  continued  its  activities  in  the  cause 
of  sound  currency  during  the  years  1895  and  1896.  But 
with  the  disposition  to  provide  only  for  an  emergency, 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  Congress 
failed  to  make  any  provision  for  the  amendment  of  our 
banking  system,  and  not  until  the  year  1913  was  the  sub 
ject  seriously  taken  up  by  any  administration. 

One  of  the  most  effective  of  the  publications  of  the 
silver  men,  during  the  period  I  have  mentioned,  was  a 
little  book  by  W.  H.  Harvey,  called  Coin's  Financial 
School.  This  purported  to  be  a  series  of  lectures  upon 
financial  subjects  and  was  stuffed  with  falsehoods.  Thus, 
for  example,  Lyman  J.  Gage,  of  Chicago,  was  obliged  to 
say  of  it:  "I  never  attended  any  such  lecture.  I  never 
asked  any  such  questions  or  made  any  such  answers  as 
are  there  set  forth.  It  is  a  fabrication  from  beginning 


256        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  end.' '  Perhaps  the  best  reply  to  it  was  made  by  Horace 
White  in  a  pamphlet,  which  he  called  Coin's  Financial 
Fool,  and  in  which  he  exploded  the  whole  series  of  misre 
presentations.  I  myself  tried  my  hand  and  wrote  a  little 
book  called  Real  Bi-Metallism.  The  Putnams  published 
it  in  their  series  of  "Questions  of  the  Day." 

I  was  glad  to  receive  a  letter  from  Mr.  Cleveland 
which  expresses  so  clearly  the  principles  which  actuated 
his  conduct  that  I  quote  it: 

GRAY  GABLES,  BUZZARDS  BAY,  MASS., 
June  30,  1895. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  your  book  entitled  Real  Bi-Metal 
lism,  which  I  have  read  with  a  great  deal  of  interest.  I  espe 
cially  like  the  last  chapter  as  containing  something  which  at 
some  time  in  the  discussion  will  be  a  powerful  argument  in 
arousing  our  people  to  the  hateful  features  of  free  coinage.  I 
mean  the  presentation  of  the  question  in  the  lights  of  national 
honesty  and  morality,  raising  the  subject  higher  than  a  con 
sideration  of  ease  in  paying  debts  by  an  augmentation  of  our 
currency,  and  discrediting  appeals  to  the  cheating  instincts  and 
silly  prejudices. 

You  know  I  always  had  faith  in  the  ultimate  return  of  the 
American  people  to  their  natural  love  for  fair  dealing  and  sound 
morality. 

Yours  sincerely, 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

In  1896,  Bryan  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic 
Convention  on  a  free-silver  platform.  It  was  the  Reform 
Club  which  led  the  movement  for  a  third  ticket.  Our 
members  joined  with  Sound  Money  Democrats  all  over 
the  country  in  calling  a  convention  at  Indianapolis.  We 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  257 

nominated  for  President,  John  M.  Palmer,  of  Illinois, 
who  had  been  United  States  Senator  from  that  State,  and 
for  Vice-President  Simon  Bolivar  Buckner,  a  distinguished 
Confederate  general  from  Kentucky. 

The  following  letters  show  clearly  the  political  condi 
tions  of  that  campaign: 

NEW  YORK,  July  31,  1896. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

I  have  just  received  yours  of  to-day  enclosing  a  letter 
addressed  to  Hon.  Charles  Tracy.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you 
called  his  attention  to  the  danger  of  the  talk  about  bi-metal- 
lism.  I  have  taken  the  same  position  for  a  long  time  and  told 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Committee  eight  months  ago  that 
if  they  passed  resolutions  suggesting  international  bi-metallism 
as  an  ultimate  result,  that  they  were  but  furnishing  fuel  to 
feed  a  dangerous  flame.  I  assure  you  that  it  is  no  satisfaction 
to  see  my  predictions  verified  in  this  almost  terrible  manner. 

Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  S.  PAIRCHILD. 

The  next  is  from  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  Texas, 
Major  M.  F.  Mott,  of  Galveston.  He  had  served  with 
distinction  in  the  Confederate  Army.  I  had  come  to 
know  him  while  I  was  settling  the  estate  of  Paul  Spofford. 

The  fanatical  wave  of  free  silver  which  spread  so  rapidly 
over  the  West  and  South  seems  to  have  reached  its  culmin 
ation.  Still  there  is  great  danger  that  the  wave  may  not 
recede  sufficiently  before  November  to  prevent  the  election  of 
Mr.  Bryan.  A  plethora  of  agricultural  and  manufactured 
products  and  no  markets,  or  with  markets  which  do  not  pay 
the  cost  of  production,  together  with  an  immense  army  of 
unemployed  people,  has  created  a  desire  for  a  change.  The 
ordinary  man  looks  at  the  condition  as  he  finds  it,  and  not 

17 


258       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

being  able  to  analyze  or  find  the  causes,  jumps  to  the  con 
clusion  that  any  change  would  be  beneficial.  And  the  dema 
gogue  is  engaged  in  trying  to  convince  the  masses  that  free 
silver  will  be  the  panacea  for  the  ills  which  surround  them.  I 
honestly  believe  that  the  hope  that  any  change  will  be  better 
than  the  present  condition  is  the  motive  which  induces  a 
majority  of  the  advocates  of  Mr.  Bryan  and  his  Populistic 
platform  to  enlist  in  his  ranks.  But  no  matter  what  are  the 
causes,  the  serious  fact  remains  that  McKinley's  election  is  by 
no  means  assured.  And  the  Republicans  of  the  North  and 
East  should  not  blind  themselves  to  the  threatened  danger, 
but  on  the  contrary  exert  their  utmost  efforts  to  prevent  the 
consummation  of  such  a  disaster.  You  ask  me  whether  a 
national  Democratic  ticket  would  insure  the  electoral  vote  of 
Texas  for  Mr.  Bryan.  My  candid  opinion  is  that  such  a  ticket 
would  take  more  votes  from  Mr.  Bryan  than  it  would  from 
McKinley  in  this  State.  There  are  thousands  of  Democrats 
who  cannot  be  induced,  under  any  circumstances,  to  vote  a 
Republican  ticket.  The  memory  of  reconstruction,  the 
repeated  efforts  of  the  Republicans  to  fasten  a  force  bill  upon 
the  country,  and  their  efforts  to  bring  about  social  equality, 
will  deter  them  from  supporting  McKinley.  And  if  there  is  no 
ticket  which  they  can  honestly  support,  the  chances  are  that 
many  of  them,  under  the  glamour  of  the  name  of  democracy, 
will  be  found  voting  for  Bryan  in  November.  Give  them, 
however,  a  national  ticket  and  they  will  cheerfully  support  it. 
There  are  a  good  many  old-time  Democrats  in  this  State  who 
will  vote  for  McKinley  as  a  choice  of  evils,  and  as  the  only  way 
to  defeat  Bryan.  A  third  ticket  will  not  induce  them  to 
change;  whereas  a  third  ticket  will  take  away  votes  from 
Bryan.  It  is  difficult  now  to  forecast  what  will  be  the  result 
in  Texas.  With  a  Democratic  majority  of  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  any 
combination  which  will  bring  about  a  change.  There  is, 
however,  great  dissatisfaction  among  the  Democrats  of  this 
State  with  the  present  state  administration  and  the  ring  by 
which  it  has  been  controlled  for  the  past  eight  years.  There  is 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  259 

a  strong  desire  to  break  down  this  ring  and  get  rid  of  its  corrupt 
machine.  If  the  present  Governor  is  renominated,  which  is 
almost  certain,  thousands  of  Democrats  will  vote  for  the 
nominee  of  the  Populist  party,  simply  to  bring  about  the 
defeat  of  the  present  ring  administration.  There  has  been 
some  talk  about  a  fusion  between  the  Republicans  and  the 
Populists  of  Texas  upon  a  division  of  electors,  with  the  under 
standing  that  the  Populists  are  to  have  the  state  offices.  If  this 
fusion  is  brought  about  and  carried  out  in  good  faith,  I  think 
the  chances  would  be  even  between  McKinley  and  Bryan.  So 
much  for  the  condition  of  affairs  in  this  State.  .  .  . 

The  truth  is  that  the  Populist  party  is  composed  largely 
of  the  small  farmers  who  have  come  into  the  South  from  the 
middle  and  northwestern  States  since  the  war.  The  old 
slave-holders,  myself  amongst  the  number,  have  always  been 
Democrats  because  that  is  the  party  which  gave  us  protection ; 
and  the  majority  of  them  are  now  sound  money  Democrats. 
If  you  have  an  opportunity,  suggest  to  Mr.  Cockran  and  our 
other  Democratic  friends  in  the  North  to  avoid  this  issue, 
and  cease  stirring  up  of  sectional  strife.  The  great  Monroe 
Doctrine  message  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  the  action  of  Congress 
immediately  thereafter,  removing  all  disabilities  from  Con 
federates,  seemed  to  have  put  an  end  to  sectional  issues,  and 
Mr.  McKinley  in  one  of  his  great  patriotic  addresses  has 
alluded  to  that  fact.  It  will  not  do  for  northern  Democrats 
to  keep  it  up;  and  while  Mr.  Cockr an 's  expression  might  be 
treated  as  a  rhetorical  figure  of  speech,  it  none  the  less  will 
have  its  effect. 

We  made  a  vigorous  campaign  for  Palmer  and  Buckner 
in  some  of  the  States  where  the  vote  was  likely  to  be  close, 
notably  in  Indiana.  The  ticket  was  not  for  success,  but 
for  conscience'  sake.  It  received  Democratic  votes  enough 
in  Indiana,  Kentucky  and  Maryland  to  enable  McKinley 
and  Roosevelt  to  carry  those  States,  and  that  gave  them  a 
majority  in  the  Electoral  College.  In  short,  it  was  a  great 


2<5o       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

battle  for  honest  money  and  the  maintenance  of  American 
credit.  We  fought  it  bravely,  we  fought  it  successfully, 
and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  give  this  brief  history  of  the 
campaign.  Probably  most  of  those  we  defeated  are  now 
satisfied  with  the  result. 

Mr.  Bryan  was  again  nominated  for  the  Presidency 
in  1900.     His  defeat  in  that  year  was  even  more  complete 
than  in  1896.     McKinley's  plurality  was  849,790,  and  his 
majority  in  the  Electoral  College  was  95.     No  attempt  has 
been  made  since  that  time  to  put  the  currency  of  this 
country  on  a  silver  basis,  and  it  may  fairly  be  considered 
that  the  gold  standard  is  finally  established.     On  this 
solid  foundation  we  were  able  to  establish  a  more  flexible 
and    harmonious    currency    system.     The    educational 
campaign  of  the  Reform  Club  now  bore  positive  fruit. 
The  statesmen  and  financiers  of  the  country  combined 
in  the  preparation  of  legislation  for  this  purpose.     The 
Federal  Reserve  Act  became  a  law  December  23,  1913. 
Under  this  law  the  banks  conduct  in  an  orderly  way  and 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Government  what  they  at 
tempted  to  do  before  by  the  medium  of  clearing  houses  in 
the  great  financial  centers.   Circulating  notes  known  as  fed 
eral  reserve  notes  may  be  issued  against  commercial  paper 
with  a  minimum  gold  reserve  of  forty  per  cent.    ^The  oper 
ation  of  the  system  has  been  altogether  satisfactory.     At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  Europe  in  August,  1914,  the 
cooperation  of  the  federal  reserve  banks  carried  us  safely 
through  the  financial  difficulties  incident  to  the  great 
change  in  commerce  that  was  the  necessary  result  of  this 
titanic  struggle.     We  may  fairly  believe  that  such  panics 


THE  CURRENCY,  1857-1913  261 

as  cursed  the  country  in  1837,  1857  and  1873  are  now 
impossible. 

Webster's  great  argument  in  McCulloch  v.  Maryland, 
convinced  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  soundness  of  the 
principles  of  constitutional  construction,  the  application  of 
which  led  the  court  to  decide,  March  7,  1819*: 

The  government  of  the  Union,  though  limited  in  its  powers, 
is  supreme  in  its  field  of  action.  This  would  seem  to  result 
necessarily  from  its  nature.  It  is  the  government  of  all.  Its 
powers  are  delegated  by  all.  It  represents  all  and  acts  for  all. 
.  .  .  The  government,  which  has  the  right  to  do  an  act  and  has 
imposed  on  it  the  duty  of  performing  that  act,  must,  according 
to  the  dictates  of  reason,  be  allowed  to  select  the  means. 

Let  the  end  be  legitimate,  let  it  be  within  the  scope  of  the 
Constitution,  and  all  means  which  are  appropriate,  which 
are  plainly  adapted  to  that  end,  which  are  not  prohibited,  but 
consist  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Constitution  are 
constitutional. 

Against  these  principles,  Andrew  Jackson  vainly 
struggled.  He  had  the  constitutional  power  to  veto  the 
bill  which  was  passed  by  Congress  in  1832,  extending  the 
charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Webster's 
argument  in  the  Senate  did  not  convince  Old  Hickory,  but 
it  has  convinced  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
power  which  he  then  advocated  is  now  exercised  without 
question  and  with  the  most  beneficent  results. 

1  Webster's  Works,  vol.  iii.,  p.  437;  4  Wheaton  316;  4  Wheaton  405, 
409,  421. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,    1880-1916 

Civil  service  reform  is  so  fundamental  that  all  other  reforms 
must  rest  upon  it. — Charles  W.  Eliot. 

DURING  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880,  the  public 
conscience  of  the  nation  was  aroused.  The  enormous 
expenditure  which  accompanied  and  followed  the  Civil 
War  and  the  development  of  railroads  and  manufactures 
which  was  incident  to  that  great  struggle,  had  brought 
forward  men  to  whom  politics  was  a  gainful  trade  and 
who  were  ready  to  accept  for  their  private  profit  the 
opportunities  afforded  by  governmental  activity.  As 
they  were  making  politics  a  trade,  they  thought  it  legiti 
mate  to  make  government  offices  and  the  ballots  of  voters 
part  of  the  merchandise.  The  abuse  of  the  power  of 
appointment  and  removal,  which  began  in  the  Adminis 
tration  of  Andrew  Jackson,  had  not  abated.  Not  all 
the  eloquence  of  Daniel  Webster  sufficed  to  diminish 
its  intensity.  To  use  his  own  expression  in  1832: 

There  is  no  civilized  country  on  earth  in  which  on  a  change 
of  rulers  there  is  such  an  inquisition  for  spoil  as  we  have 
witnessed  in  this  free  republic.  When,  sir,  did  any  British 
Minister,  Whig  or  Tory,  ever  make  such  an  inquest?  When 

262 


CARL    SCHURZ 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        263 

did  he  ever  get  down  to  low-water  mark  to  make  an  ousting 
of  tide-waiters  ?  When  did  he  ever  take  away  the  daily  bread 
of  weighers,  and  gangers  and  measurers  ?  When  did  he  ever  go 
into  the  villages  to  disturb  the  little  post-offices,  the  mail  con 
tracts,  and  everything  else  in  the  remotest  degree  connected 
with  Government?  A  British  Minister  who  should  do  this 
and  should  afterwards  show  his  head  in  a  British  House  of 
Commons  would  be  received  by  a  universal  hiss. 

In  his  delightful  Reminiscences  of  a  Long  Life,  Carl 
Schurz  expresses  his  own  similar  observation  of  the 
occupation  of  Congressmen  in  I852.1 

These  evils  had  gone  on  progressively  increasing.  As 
part  of  the  trade  a  system  had  sprung  up  of  assessing 
officeholders.  This  reached  its  culmination  during  the 
campaign  of  1880.  Assessments  were  openly  levied 
throughout  the  country  in  aid  of  the  campaign  for  Gar- 
field  and  Arthur.  A  New  York  police  justice  took  a 
room  at  the  Astor  House,  took  off  his  coat,  sent  for  all  the 
clerks  in  the  post  office  across  the  street,  and  levied  a 
tax  on  each.  The  moneys  thus  accumulated  were  partly 
spent  in  legitimate  expenses,  but  were  also  expended  in 
bribing  voters.  Dudley's  expression  of  "  marshaling  the 
floaters  in  blocks  of  five"  described  what  took  place  not 
only  in  the  Indiana  October  election  of  1880,  but  in  many 
other  States. 

This  increase  of  corruption  in  politics  ran  side  by  side 
with  an  increased  zeal  for  reform  and  a  quickened  political 
conscience.  Governor  Tilden  and  his  associates  in  New 
York  and  President  Hayes  and  his  Administration  at 
Washington,  had  shown  that  it  was  possible  to  administer 

1  Vol.  ii.f  pp.  26-27. 


264       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  government  honestly,  and  to  use  the  power  of  appoint 
ment  for  the  public  good.  With  William  M.  Evarts  as 
Secretary  of  State  and  Carl  Schurz,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  an  administration  could  hardly  go  far  astray. 
In  1877  the  President  established  in  the  Custom  House 
and  Post  Office  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Schurz  in  the  In 
terior  Department,  a  system  of  selecting  clerks  and  other 
employees  on  the  ground  of  merit  only.  They  refused  to 
make  removals  except  for  cause.  It  was  not  in  vain  that 
Rev.  George  L.  Prentiss  had  made  an  address  published 
in  1877,  on  our  "National  Bane,"  or  the  "Dry  Rot  in 
American  Politics."  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  whose 
activity  not  only  in  the  religious  work  of  his  own  church 
but  in  the  Sanitary  Commission  during  the  war,  should 
never  be  forgotten,  and  many  other  leading  clergymen 
did  their  part  as  prophets  of  righteousness.  It  is  not  sur 
prising,  therefore,  that  a  few  reformers  met  in  May,  1877, 
at  the  house  of  Dorman  B.  Eaton  in  New  York  City,  to 
consider  the  formation  of  a  Civil  Service  Reform  Associ 
ation.  They  summoned  friends  to  aid  them,  and  met  at 
Municipal  Hall,  67  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  on 
the  sixteenth  of  May,  1877.  There  the  first  Civil  Service 
Reform  Association  was  formed.  Its  president  was  Dr. 
Bellows,  and  Dorman  B.  Eaton  was  entrusted  with  the 
task  of  formulating  legislation.  He  had  made  a  study  of 
the  reform  system  in  England,  and  had  written  and 
published  a  book  upon  the  subject.  He  had  retired  from 
the  active  practice  of  the  law,  and  was  qualified,  in  heart 
and  intellect,  to  deal  wisely  with  the  growing  disease 
in  the  body  politic.  - 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        265 

The  abuses  during  the  election  of  1880  stimulated 
public  interest,  and  the  association  was  reorganized  in 
December  of  that  year.  George  William  Curtis,  a  man 
never  to  be  mentioned  without  reverence  and  gratitude, 
became  its  president.  He  had  been  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Republican  party.  Perhaps  no  man  had  greater 
influence  with  its  better  element.  It  was  thought  best 
that  a  Democrat  should  be  appointed  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  and  I  was  honored  with  that 
position. 

This  selection  was  in  part  the  result  of  an  article  of  mine 
in  the  Post,  in  which  I  had  criticised  the  Independent 
Republicans  for  supporting  Garfield  as  against  Hancock, 
and  pointed  out  how  much  more  Civil  Service  Reform  had 
to  expect  from  the  Democrats  than  from  the  Republicans, 
who  had  been  using  the  spoils  system  for  twenty  years 
for  their  political  profit.  Mr.  Godkin  called  me  to  enter 
the  Reform  Association,  and  I  obeyed. 

To  elucidate  the  story  of  1882  it  is  necessary  to  recur  to 
the  administrations  of  President  Grant  and  President 
Hayes.  The  former  was  sincerely  interested  in  the  reform 
of  the  Civil  Service.  He  saw  that  it  was  inconsistent 
with  efficient  administration  to  make  appointments  in 
the  Civil  Service  the  reward  of  political  activity  or  to 
dismiss  competent  officers  to  make  room  for  political 
supporters,  and  that  to  permit  officers  of  the  government 
to  request  from  other  officers  contributions  for  political 
purposes  was  to  put  upon  the  recipient  of  such  requests 
moral  coercion.  He  undertook  to  establish  a  system 
in  some  of  the  government  offices,  by  which  appoint- 


266        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

ments  and  promotions  should  be  made  on  the  ground  of 
merit.  But  Congress  was  busy  with  more  exciting  topics. 
He  could  get  no  appropriation  for  the  necessary  expenses 
of  the  reform  administration,  and  dropped  it.  But  he  did 
succeed  in  impressing  upon  Congress  the  importance  of 
legislation  in  reference  to  the  levying  of  political  assess 
ments. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  August,  1876  (Chapter  287  of  the 
laws  of  that  year),  an  act  was  approved  providing  that 

All  executive  officers  or  employees  of  the  United  [States  not 
appointed  by  the  President,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  are  prohibited  from  requesting,  giving,  or  re 
ceiving  from  any  other  officer  or  employee  of  the  Government 
any  money  or  property  or  other  thing  of  value  for  political 
purposes. 

When  Hayes  became  President  he  determined  to  enforce 
this  law,  and  accordingly  issued  on  the  twenty-second  of 
June,  1877,  the  following  executive  order: 

No  officer  should  be  required  or  permitted  to  take  part  in 
the  management  of  political  organizations,  caucuses,  conven 
tions,  or  election  campaigns.  Their  right  to  vote  and  to  express 
their  views  on  public  questions,  either  orally  or  through  the 
press,  is  not  denied,  provided  it  does  not  interfere  with  the 
discharge  of  their  official  duties.  No  assessment  for  polit 
ical  purposes  on  officers  or  subordinates  should  be  allowed. 
This  rule  is  applicable  to  every  department  of  the  civil 
service.  It  should  be  understood  by  every  officer  of  the  general 
government  that  he  is  expected  to  conform  his  conduct  to  its 
requirements. 

When  Garfield  became  President  the  Civil  Service 
reformers  hoped  that  he  would  remember  a  statement  he 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        267 

had  made  in  Congress,  that  these  requests  are  made  of 
employees  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  "unless 
they  pay  that  per  cent,  of  their  salaries,  others  will  be 
found  to  take  their  places  who  will  pay  the  assessment. " 
Had  he  lived,  he  might  have  been  as  resolute  as  his  prede 
cessor  to  break  up  the  mischievous  practice.  But  he  was 
assassinated  on  the  second  of  July,  1881.  During  his  long 
illness,  the  old  politicians  felt  at  liberty  to  renew  the  levy 
of  assessments  upon  officeholders.  Accordingly  they 
deputed  Gen.  Newton  Martin  Curtis,  who  was  special 
treasury  agent  under  the  United  States  Government,  to 
occupy  a  room  in  the  Post  Office  Building  in  New  York 
City,  and  send  out  circulars  to  Federal  officeholders  ask 
ing  for  contributions  for  the  Republican  campaign  fund  of 
1 88 1.  He  was  undoubtedly  advised  that  he  had  the  right 
to  do  this  and  that  the  Act  of  Congress,  which  has  been 
quoted,  was  unconstitutional.  He  did  it  with  as  much 
boldness  as  he  had  headed  a  charge  on  the  Confederate 
batteries  at  Fort  Wagner.  He  was  a  handsome  man, 
six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  and  frankness  was  part  of 
his  constitution.  He  never  bore  malice  against  the  Civil 
Service  Reform  Association  for  their  prosecution  of  him. 
He  and  I  became  very  good  friends  afterwards,  and  I  read 
with  interest  his  graphic  description  of  his  military  experi 
ences  From  Bull  Run  to  Chancellor sville. 

The  boldness  of  the  demand  attracted  general  attention, 
and  the  New  York  Herald  appealed  to  George  William 
Curtis  and  myself,  "to  check  and  reform  such  practices." 
It  did  me  the  honor  to  style  me  a  "learned  and  public 
spirited  lawyer"  and  declared: 


268        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  Association  cannot  do  better  service  in  the  cause  for 
which  it  is  professedly  organized  than  to  test  the  question 
in  the  courts.  .  .  .  Has  this  Society  the  courage  for  the  under 
taking,  or  does  it  confine  its  operations  to  barking — not 
biting  ? 

Mr.  Curtis  and  I  did  not  need  the  appeal,  but  it  strength 
ened  our  position  to  have  the  vigorous  support  of  the 
Herald.  We  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  Gen. 
Stewart  L.  Woodford,  the  attorney  of  the  United  States 
for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York,  and  convinced 
him  that  General  Curtis  should  be  indicted  for  the  vio 
lation  of  the  statute  which  has  been  quoted.  Indict 
ment  was  found,  and  the  case  came  on  to  be  tried  before 
Judge  Benedict  and  a  jury  in  1882.  Edwin  B.  Smith, 
who  was  retained  by  the  Republican  Campaign  Committee, 
appeared  as  counsel  for  General  Curtis.  The  fact  of  his 
requesting  payments  from  Federal  employees  was  not 
denied.  His  counsel  argued  that  the  act  was  uncon 
stitutional.  Judge  Benedict  overruled  this  defense.  The 
jury  found  a  verdict  of  guilty  and  the  judge  fined  the 
defendant  $1000.  The  question  was  considered  of  such 
importance  that  counsel  on  both  sides  agreed  in  asking 
that  the  motion  in  arrest  of  judgment  should  be  heard 
before  the  full  bench  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court. 
It  was  then  possible  that  several  judges  of  that  court 
should  sit  together  to  hear  such  motions.  Accordingly 
William  J.  Wallace,  Charles  L.  Benedict  and  Addison 
Brown  heard  the  cause. 

The  counsel  for  the  defendant  maintained  that  Congress 
had  no  power  to  limit  the  freedom  of  any  citizen  to  give 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        269 

his  money  wherever  he  liked,  and  that  a  person,  by  accept 
ing  a  position  in  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
did  not  part  with  any  portion  of  this  natural  freedom. 
The  judges  saw  through  the  flimsy  veil;  recognized  that 
an  officeholder  who  is  asked  by  another  officer'  of  the 
government  to  make  such  contribution  is  really  under 
moral  coercion  and  that,  if  permitted,  the  practice  would 
become  legalized  blackmail.  Accordingly  they  denied  the 
motion,  and  judgment  was  duly  entered,  July  20,  1882.* 

Mr.  Frederick  W.  Whitridge,  who  had  been  associated 
with  me  by  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Association  as  their 
counsel  in  the  prosecution  of  this  charge  against  General 
Curtis,  assisted  me  in  the  preparation  of  the  case  and  of 
the  briefs  upon  the  hearing  in  the  Circuit  Court. 

After  judgment  had  been  entered,  Curtis  submitted 
to  imprisonment,  and  his  counsel  sued  out  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  from  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  alleg 
ing  that  he  was  unlawfully  imprisoned,  because  the  act 
under  which  he  was  convicted  was  in  violation  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Chief  Justice  Waite 
ordered  this  to  be  heard  before  the  Supreme  Court.  In 
October  I  applied  for  leave  to  submit  a  brief  on  behalf 
of  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Association.  The  Attorney- 
General  consented.  The  counsel  for  Curtis  objected,  but 
the  Chief  Justice  was  good  enough  to  say,  "We  are  always 
glad  to  hear  from  Mr.  Wheeler.'*  The  motion  was 
granted  and  the  brief  submitted.  The  Court  held  the 
statute  constitutional. 2 

The  Chief  Justice  in  delivering  the  unanimous  opinion 

1  12  Fed.  Rep.,  824.  »  Ex-parte  Curtis,  106  U.  S.,  371. 


270       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

of  the  Court  stated  the  law  in  a  clear  and  convincing  man 
ner,  which  was  of  great  service  in  the  campaign  for  Civil 
Service  Reform. 

A  feeling  of  independence  under  the  law  conduces  to  faithful 
public  service,  and  nothing  tends  more  to  take  away  this 
feeling  than  a  dread  of  dismissal.  If  contributions  from  those 
in  public  employment  may  be  solicited  by  others  in  official 
authority,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  what  begins  as  a  request  may 
end  as  a  demand,  and  that  a  failure  to  meet  the  demand  may  be 
treated  by  those  having  the  power  of  removal,  as  a  breach  of 
some  supposed  duty,  growing  out  of  the  political  relations  of 
the  parties.  Contributions  secured  under  such  circumstances 
will  quite  as  likely  be  made  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  the 
personal  displeasure  of  a  superior,  as  to  promote  the  political 
views  of  the  contributor ;  to  avoid  a  discharge  from  the  service, 
not  to  exercise  a  political  privilege.  The  law  contemplates 
no  restrictions  upon  either  giving  or  receiving,  except  so  far  as 
may  be  necessary  to  protect,  in  some  degree,  those  in  the  public 
service  against  exactions  through  fear  of  personal  loss. 

If  there  were  no  other  reasons  for  legislation  of  this  character 
than  such  as  relate  to  the  protection  of  those  in  the  public 
service  against  unjust  exactions,  its  constitutionality  would, 
in  our  opinion,  be  clear;  but  there  are  others,  to  our  minds, 
equally  good.  If  persons  in  public  employ  may  be  called  on  by 
those  in  authority  to  contribute  from  their  personal  income 
to  the  expenses  of  political  campaigns,  and  a  refusal  may  lead 
to  putting  good  men  out  of  the  service,  liberal  payments  may 
be  made  the  ground  for  keeping  poor  ones  in.  So,  too,  if  a  part 
of  the  compensation  received  for  public  services  must  be 
contributed  for  political  purposes,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  an 
increase  of  compensation  may  be  required  to  provide  the  means 
to  make  the  contribution,  and  that  in  this  way  the  Govern 
ment  itself  may  be  made  to  furnish,  indirectly,  the  money  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  keeping  the  political  party  in  power 
that  happens  to  have  for  the  time  being  the  control  of  the 
public  patronage.  Political  parties  must  almost  necessarily 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        271 

exist  under  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  when  public 
employment  depends  to  any  considerable  extent  on  party 
success,  those  in  office  will  naturally  be  desirous  of  keeping 
the  party  to  which  they  belong  in  power. 

I  must  now  turn  to  another  part  of  the  campaign.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  May,  1882,  J.  A.  Hubbell,  chairman  of 
the  Republican  Congressional  Committee,  issued  a  circu 
lar  signed  by  D.  H.  Henderson,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Committee,  in  which  he  appealed  to  Federal  officeholders 
to  make  a  contribution  "for  the  protection  of  the  interests 
of  the  Republican  party  in  each  of  the  Congressional 
Districts  of  the  Union.'*  The  contribution  "it  is  hoped 
may  not  be  less  than  $15. "  In  point  of  fact  it  was  gener 
ally  understood  that  officeholders  having  a  salary  of 
$1000,  or  less,  were  required  to  pay  two  per  cent,  of  the 
salary,  and  those  having  a  salary  over  $1000  should  pay 
three  per  cent. 

Hubbell  had  been  advised  by  no  less  a  person  than 
A.  A.  Freeman,  who  was  Assistant  Attorney-General, 
that  the  statute  was  unconstitutional.  The  decisions 
referred  to  had  not  then  been  made,  and  of  course  Freeman 
might  lawfully  hold  such  an  opinion.  But  he  further 
advised  Hubbell  that  the  statute  did  not  apply  to  mem 
bers  of  Congress;  that  they  were  not  officers  of  the  United 
States. 

George  William  Curtis,  as  president,  William  Potts 
as  secretary,  and  myself,  as  chairman,  of  the  Executive 
Committee  thereupon  sent  a  letter  to  all  Federal  office 
holders  referring  to  the  circular  that  had  been  sent  and 
declaring: 


272       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

We  desire  to  inform  you  that  in  the  opinion  of  counsel,  as 
the  members  of  the  Committee  are  officers  of  the  United 
States  Government,  you  as  an  officeholder  are  liable  under 
Section  6  of  the  Statute  ...  to  punishment  by  fine  or  removal 
from  office,  or  both,  in  case  you  subscribe  as  requested.  The 
National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  proposes  to  bring 
the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  Attorney-General  and  other 
prosecuting  officers  of  the  United  States,  and  until  their  deci 
sion  is  given  we  should  advise  you  prudently  to  refrain  from 
complying  with  the  request  of  the  Committee. 

Thereupon  we  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hubbell  in 
which  he  said: 

The  law  is  misstated  in  your  circular  and  the  alarm  you 
seek  to  create  is  without  justification  in  the  law.  Your 
"counsel,"  to  whom  you  vaguely  allude,  either  misunder 
stands  or  perverts  it.  Disdaining  to  seek  shelter  behind 
any  cover,  I  therefore  challenge  you  to  the  steps  necessary  to 
an  immediate  determination  of  the  degree  of  responsibility 
which  is  attached  to  this  fact,  and  to  the  correctness  of  your 
circular,  which  I  distinctly  deny. 

Thereupon  Whitridge  and  I  wrote  Hubbell  proposing 
to  make  a  test  case  at  once.  We  informed  him  of  the 
motion  in  arrest  of  judgment  which  was  to  be  argued  in 
General  Curtis 's  case,  and  that  we  had  brought  the  matter 
of  his  circular  to  the  attention  of  the  prosecuting  officer 
of  the  United  States.  We  concluded  with  the  paragraph : 

In  conclusion  permit  us  to  inform  you  that  there  is  a  very 
general  fear  among  employees  of  the  Government  that  if  they 
do  not  make  the  contribution  you  request,  they  will  be  dis 
missed  from  the  service  of  the  United  States.  We  have  been 
appealed  to  by  many  whose  families  are  dependent  on  them  for 
support,  who  can  ill  spare  the  two  per  cent,  you  ask,  but  who 
cannot  afford  to  lose  their  places  and  their  meager  income. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        273 

In  the  words  of  the  late  President  Garfield,  these  requests 
are  made  of  employees  "with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
unless  they  pay  that  per  cent,  upon  their  salaries,  others  will 
be  found  to  take  their  places  who  will  pay  the  assessment." 
And  we  believe  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  money 
received  by  you  from  such  officeholder  is  paid  under  duress. 
We  will  gladly  join  you  in  a  letter  to  the  President  asking 
him  to  issue  an  executive  order  that  no  removal  shall  be  made 
for  a  refusal  to  pay  the  contribution  you  request. 

Freeman,  on  the  twenty-first  of  June,  wrote  Mr.  Curtis, 
declaring : 

I  have  violated  this  statute  knowingly  and  willfully  by 
contributing  money  to  the  Republican  Congressional  Com 
mittee,  to  be  used  for  political  purposes.  I  have  disregarded 
the  statute  because  it  is  not  the  law  of  the  land. 

Curiously  enough,  Freeman,  while  giving  this  letter  to 
the  press,  never  sent  it  to  Mr.  Curtis,  and  we  were  not 
able  to  make  legal  proof  against  Freeman  of  his  com 
mission  of  the  offense  in  question.  Otherwise  we  should 
have  had  him  indicted. 

A  curious  comment  upon  the  Hubbell  circular  appeared 
in  the  Washington  Post  at  the  time  and  tells  the  story 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Department  Clerk  at  Wash 
ington  : 

Mr.  Hubbell  may  tell  us  that  these  assessments  are  not 
in  the  nature  of  forced  contributions,  but  he  knows  better. 
The  employee  who  declines  to  respond  becomes  a  marked  man 
at  once.  There  are  a  hundred  hungry  men  in  the  corridor 
waiting  for  his  place,  only  too  ready  to  discount  their  salaries 
at  whatever  rate  Mr.  Hubbell  may  dictate;  and  the  hesitating 
clerk  or  messenger,  or  laborer,  or  floor-sweeper,  or  water-boy 
whose  bread  and  butter  depends  upon  his  stipend,  has  but  one 

IS 


274       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

alternative.  There  is  no  use  in  attempting  to  deny  or  disguise 
these  facts.  They  exist  in  Washington,  and  their  ramifica 
tions  extend  all  over  the  country,  leading  to  one  common 
sewer  of  corruption. 

Hubbell  never  made  the  test  case.  Whitridge  and  I 
were  of  opinion  that  the  members  of  Congress  were 
officers  of  the  United  States  Government  within  the  mean 
ing  of  the  Act.1  But  Attorney- General  Brewster  gave 
an  opinion  to  the  contrary,  and  we  could  not  get  an 
indictment  against  Hubbell. 

In  a  letter  which  Charles  J.  Folger,  then  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  wrote  to  one  of  the  officials  of  his  Depart 
ment,  he  assured  the  public  that  no  servant  of  the  United 
States  therein  (in  the  Treasury  Department)  need  feel 
the  slightest  pressure  upon  him  to  give  if  he  did  not  wish 
to  give.  "I  would  have  him  think  and  feel  and  do  as  if, 
in  the  religious  meeting  house  of  his  choice,  the  preacher 
should  lay  before  him  the  needs  of  some  cause." 

Our  faithful  supporter  in  the  press,  Edward  Cary, 
one  of  the  editors  of  the  Times,  gave  us  the  benefit  of 
this  editorial,  which  I  cannot  forbear  to  quote: 

NAY,    THOMAS,    IT    IS    RELIGION. 

There  is  a  well-worn  story  of  Margaret  Fuller  and  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson  going  together  to  see  Fanny  Ellsler  dance 
during  her  first  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1841.  Eligible 
seats  were  procured  in  the  front  row  of  the  parquet,  and  after 
gazing  on  the  spectacle,  speechless  for  some  time,  Miss  Fuller 
remarked  to  her  companion,  "Ralph,  this  is  poetry" — whereto 

1  The  Supreme  Court  has  so  held,  under  a  similar  act,  Lamar  v.  U.  S.,  36 
Supreme  Ct.  Rep.,  535  (1916). 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916'       275 

he  responded,  "Nay,  Margaret,  it  is  more  than  poetry — it  is 
religion." 

After  contemplating  the  political  assessment  saltations  of 
Jay  Hubbell  ever  since  the  middle  of  the  month  of  May  with 
speechless  admiration,  Mr.  Folger,  President  Arthur's  vener 
able  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  is  moved  to  an  expression  akin 
to  the  Concord  philosopher's,  and  under  date  of  July  25  he 
writes  to  Mr.  Thomas,  his  associate  in  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment,  that  he  "may  give  to  Chairman  Hubbell  without 
running  foul  of  a  penal  statute, "  and  adds,  "I  would  have  you 
think  and  feel  and  do  as  if  in  the  religious  meeting  house  of 
your  choice,  the  preacher  should  lay  before  you  the  needs  of 
some  cause." 

The  organized  opposition  of  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association  and  the  support  it  received  from  the  public 
press  encouraged  many  officeholders  to  refuse  to  contri 
bute.  Accordingly,  on  the  fifteenth  of  August,  a  new 
circular  was  sent  by  Hubbell  and  Henderson  in  which 
the  case  was  thus  put : 

It  is  hoped  by  return  mail  you  will  send  a  voluntary  contri 
bution  equal  to  two  per  cent,  of  your  annual  compensation  as 
a  substantial  proof  of  your  earnest  desire  for  the  success  of 
the  Republican  party  this  fall.  Transmit  by  draft  or  postal 
money  order  payable  to  the  order  of  J.  A  Hubbell,  Acting 
Treasurer,  P.  O.  Lock  Box,  589,  Washington,  D.  C. 

In  the  circular  sent  to  the  workmen  employed  in  the 
subaqueous  excavations  at  Hell  Gate,  the  amount  to  be 
paid  by  each  was  fixed  at  not  less  than  $17.50.  The  pay 
of  these  men  ranged  from  a  dollar-eighty  to  three  dollars 
per  day. 

A  married  rock-driller  complained  to  the  reporter  that 
the  demand  for  seventeen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  from  Mr. 


276       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Hubbell  meant  that  he  must  give  up  enough  money  to  pay 
a  month's  rent  and  five  dollars  and  fifty  cents  besides. 

When  the  Democratic  and  Independent  journals 
attacked  the  Republican  party  for  tolerating  these  assess 
ments,  the  answer  was  made  that  the  Democratic  party 
was  just  as  bad.  To  this  we  had  the  following  rejoinder 
from  Mr.  Gary  in  the  Times. 

We  have  not  a  very  strong  faith  in  Democratic  honor 
generally  about  political  assessments,  but  we  do  know  this — 
that  when  the  Democrats  came  into  control  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  Washington  in  1875,  and  it  was  soon  after 
wards  proposed  in  their  Congressional  Campaign  Committee 
that  the  attendants  in  the  House — clerks,  doorkeepers,  pages 
and  the  like — should  be  assessed  in  the  way  Senators  Allison, 
Hale,  Aldrich  and  their  thirteen  associates  now  are  assessing 
them,  the  proposition  was  rejected,  one  distinguished  Demo 
crat  indignantly  remarking  that  it  would  be  just  as  indecent 
as  for  a  householder  to  extort  a  percentage  from  his  servant's 
wages  for  his  personal  expenses. 

And  now  let  me  return  to  the  story  of  constructive 
legislation. 

George  H.  Pendleton,  Democratic  Senator  from  Ohio, 
had  introduced  in  1880  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  reform  of 
the  Civil  Service.  The  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform 
Association  had  attracted  members  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  may  fairly  be  called  the  mother  of  the  many 
associations  that  have  since  sprung  up  and  done  such 
effective  work  in  this  noble  cause.  Its  Committee  on 
Legislation  set  to  work  on  a  bill  which  it  should  propose  to 
Senator  Pendleton  as  a  substitute  for  his.  It  was  aided 
by  the  counsel  and  experience  of  many  associates  in 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        277 

different  parts  of  the  country.  Among  these  especially 
should  be  mentioned  Wayne  MacVeagh  and  Carl  Schurz. 
Dorman  B.  Eaton  drafted  the  bill,  and  he,  George  William 
Curtis,  Silas  W.  Burt,  Orlando  B.  Potter  and  myself  sat 
for  many  evenings  revising  the  work.  We  communicated 
to  Senator  Pendleton  what  we  were  doing,  and  received 
prompt  and  generous  assurance  of  his  cooperation.  Our 
bill  met  with  his  approval,  and  was  introduced  by  him 
January  10,  1881.  It  was  referred  to  a  special  committee. 
The  Civil  Service  Reform  Association  had  a  hearing  before 
that  committee,  and  the  committee  reported  in  its  favor 
early  in  the  year  1881 .  But  the  session  ended  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  and  the  bill  did  not  come  up  for  a  vote  in  the 
Senate. 

A  bill  also  drafted  by  the  New  York  Association  to 
extend  the  law  against  the  levy  of  political  assessments 
was  introduced  in  the  House  by  Mr.  Willis,  a  Democrat 
from  Kentucky.  Both  he  and  Mr.  Pendleton  were  our 
cordial  supporters  and  friends  during  all  the  Congressional 
controversies  that  followed. 

President  Garfield  was  inaugurated  on  the  fourth 
of  March.  Guiteau's  assassination  of  the  President  on 
the  second  of  July  showed  the  wickedness  of  the  passions 
that  were  aroused  by  the  prevailing  system  of  political 
management  and  made  a  profound  impression  upon  the 
public  conscience.  A  cartoon,  which  had  a  great  run  at 
the  time,  represented  Guiteau  pointing  a  pistol  at  the 
President,  with  the  cry,  "An  office  or  your  life." 

A  conference  of  Civil  Service  Reform  Associations 
assembled  at  Newport  on  the  eleventh  of  August,  1881. 


278        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Mr.    Curtis,    who    presided,    introduced    the    following 
resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

RESOLVED:  That  the  bill  introduced  in  the  Senate  by 
Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  provides  a  constitutional,  practicable 
and  effective  measure  for  the  remedy  of  the  abuses  known 
as  the  Spoils  System,  and  that  the  Associations  represented 
at  this  conference  will  use  every  honorable  means,  in  the  press, 
on  the  platform,  and  by  petition,  to  secure  its  passage  by 
Congress. 

Of  those  who  attended  the  conference  I  may  mention 
Charles  J.  Bonaparte  of  Baltimore;  Charles  R.  Codman, 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Roger  Walcott,  afterwards  Gover 
nor  of  Massachusetts  and  Augustus  Hemenway  of 
Boston;  Charles  Theodore  Russell  of  Cambridge;  George 
William  Curtis,  Silas  W.  Burt,  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  O.  B. 
Potter,  Carl  Schurz  and  Dr.  William  H.  Thomson  of  New 
York;  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Harris,  W.  W.  Montgomery  and  J. 
G.  Rosengarten  of  Philadelphia;  Henry  Hitchcock  of 
St.  Louis  and  Talcott  Williams  then  of  Springfield,  Massa 
chusetts. 

Mr.  Schurz  said,  "That  small  as  the  beginning  might  be, 
the  movement  commenced  a  work  in  its  purpose  and  extent 
comparable  only  with  the  Anti-Corn  Law  League  in 
England." 

Speaking  on  the  subject  of  removals  he  also  said  that  "it 
was  his  experience  that  removals  and  changes  were  very 
rarely  made  for  the  sake  of  removal  or  change,  that  they 
came  as  the  fruit  of  pressure  for  spoils." 

The  Boston  Association  had  taken  steps  towards  the 
publication  in  cheap  form  of  one  hundred  thousand  copies 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        279 

of  the  Pendleton  bill.  The  Conference  voted  to  promote 
the  circulation  of  petitions  in  support  of  its  passage,  and 
to  approve  the  bill  on  the  subject  of  political  assessments. 
In  a  few  closing  sentences,  Mr.  Curtis  made  use  of  these 
memorable  words: 

We  have  laid  our  hands  on  the  barbaric  palace  of  patronage, 
and  begun  to  write  on  its  walls  "  Mene,  Mene."  Nor,  I  believe, 
will  the  work  end  till  they  are  laid  in  the  dust. 

At  this  conference  a  National  Civil  Service  League  was 
organized.  Its  office  was  in  New  York.  The  agitation 
went  on  vigorously.  Orlando  B.  Potter  gave  $2000  to 
circulate  in  a  broadside  the  utterances  of  Mr.  Garfield  on 
the  subject  of  Civil  Service  Reform.  This  was  printed 
in  a  form  commemorative,  as  it  were,  of  the  great  President 
who  had  meanwhile  died  at  Long  Branch.  Over  a 
hundred  thousand  copies  were  circulated. 

The  Reform  propaganda  extended  to  every  part  of  the 
country.  Associations  were  formed  in  many  States. 
The  press  gave  it  efficient  support,  and  when  Senator 
Pendleton  on  the  sixth  of  December,  1881,  again  intro 
duced  in  the  Senate  the  Civil  Service  Reform  bill,  as 
originally  drawn  by  the  Association  and  approved  by 
the  League,  it  met  with  general  support. 

Some  objections  were  made  to  its  details,  the  most 
important  being  that  it  might  centralize  the  Administration 
too  much  at  Washington,  and  that  applicants  in  remote 
States  would  have  no  practical  opportunity  to  apply  for 
admission  to  the  service.  We  drafted  an  amendment  to 
the  bill  to  obviate  this  objection.  This  required  an 


280       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

apportionment  of  appointments  to  the  public  service 
among  the  several  States  and  Territories,  and  the  District 
of  Columbia.  These  amendments  were  approved  by 
Senator  Pendleton,  and  were  incorporated  in  the  bill  as 
passed.  The  essential  features  of  the  draft  were  embodied 
in  the  act  adopted. 

1.  A  commission  was  created  to  have  charge  of  the 
administration  of  the  Civil  Service  of  the  United  States 
Government. 

2.  m  Admission  to  and  promotion  in  this  service  was 
to  be  upon  the  " basis  of  merit  and  competition."  The 
fitness  of  applicants  was  to  be  ascertained  by  an  open 
competitive  examination,  and  all  offices  were  to  be  filled 
by  selection  "from  among  those  graded  highest  as  the 
result  of  such  competitive  examinations. " 

The  bill  as  drawn  provided  that  original  entrance  to  the 
public  service  should  be  at  the  lowest  grade;  but  this 
provision  was  stricken  out  in  the  Senate. 

Subject  to  general  principles  embodied  in  the  act  the 
making  of  rules  for  the  administration  of  the  system  was 
left  to  the  President,  and  the  classification  of  offices 
which  were  to  come  within  its  scope  was  also  left  to  him. 
We  felt  that  the  system  was  so  great  an  innovation  that  it 
would  be  unwise  to  undertake  at  first  to  extend  it  to  all 
branches  of  the  public  service.  To  inaugurate  it  would 
be  a  task  of  difficulty,  and  if  too  much  were  undertaken 
at  once,  the  whole  system  might  break  down. 

Thus  the  Pendleton  bill  came  into  being.  It  passed 
both  Houses.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  each  party 
voted  for  it.  It  was  opposed  by  some  of  the  spoilsmen, 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        281 

who  brought  forward  the  hackneyed  argument  that  it 
would  create  a  permanent  tenure  of  office  and  that  there 
was  something  American  in  the  hoggish  scramble  for 
spoils  which  had  prevailed  since  it  was  introduced  by 
Andrew  Jackson.  But  the  true  American  heart  was  too 
wise  to  be  taken  in  by  such  trash,  the  bill  as  a  whole  met 
the  approval  of  .the  American  (people,  and  was  .approved 
by  the  President,  January  16,  1883. 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  was  properly  appointed  chairman  of 
the  first  commission.  There  were  some  Reformers  who 
thought  his  administration  too  conservative,  but  they 
overlooked  the  curious  streak  of  conservatism  that  runs 
through  the  American  character  and  is  constantly  min 
gling  with  the  progressive  temper  of  our  people.  The 
result  justified  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Eaton's  general  admin 
istration  of  his  great  and  difficult  office.  We  have  gone 
on  "conquering  and  to  conquer."  When  the  condition  of 
the  Civil  Service  of  the  country  is  contrasted  with  what 
it  was  in  1881,  we  feel  devoutly  thankful  to  Almighty 
God  for  the  evident  blessing  that  has  attended  our  labors, 
and  certainly  congratulate  the  American  people  that  it 
has  supported  the  reform  against  the  constant  and  in 
sidious  assaults  of  selfish  and  greedy  politicians.  The 
heart  of  the  people  has  been  right,  whatever  superficial 
indications  there  may  have  been  to  the  contrary. 

The  next  advance  was  in  the  State  of  New  York.  A 
bill  was  drafted  by  Edward  M.  Shepard  and  myself 
which  applied  to  the  service  of  that  State  the  same  prin 
ciples  which  had  been  adopted  in  the  Federal  service.  This 
was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  early  in  February,  1883. 


282       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Besides  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  State  governments, 
there  were  two  civil  departments  which  we  considered — 
counties  and  cities.  The  conditions  of  the  different  coun 
ties  of  the  State  were  so  diverse  that  it  was  not  deemed 
expedient  at  that  time  to  undertake  any  legislation  in  re 
gard  to  county  officers;  and  we  apprehended  that,  if  an  at 
tempt  should  be  made  to  require  municipalities  to  submit 
themselves  to  the  new  system,  it  might  provoke  opposition 
which  would  be  fatal  to  the  whole  bill.  The  friends  of  the 
measure  also  considered  that,  unless  popular  sentiment 
could  be  developed  in  the  cities  to  the  degree  of  requiring 
the  adoption,  as  a  measure  of  local  government,  of  the 
reform  system,  it  would  not  be  made  effective,  even  if 
imposed  by  legislative  authority. 

The  result  of  these  views  was  the  first  Civil  Service 
Reform  bill  adopted  by  any  State  in  the  Union.  It 
provided  a  system  for  admission  to  the  service  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  Then  followed  a  section  which  made 
it  optional  with  the  mayors  of  cities  having  a  population 
of  over  fifty  thousand  to  prescribe  rules  for  admission  to 
the  service  of  those  cities,  with  certain  exceptions,  the 
chief  of  which  were  the  educational,  police,  fire  and 
health  departments.  The  bill  gave  to  the  heads  of  these 
departments  the  same  authority  that  was  conferred  upon 
the  mayor.  The  remainder  of  the  bill  contained  strin 
gent  clauses  prohibiting  the  levying  of  political  assess 
ments,  and  giving  the  commissioners  appointed  under  the 
bill  the  right  to  investigate  the  conditions  and  circum 
stances  of  all  the  local  governments  in  the  State,  and  to 
recommend  such  legislation  as  should  be  found  expedient. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        283 

This  bill  received  the  support  of  the  leading  men  of  both 
parties  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  was  passed  almost 
unanimously  just  before  the  end  of  the  session,  and 
received  the  immediate  approval  of  Governor  Cleveland 
who  at  once  sent  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation  the  names 
of  Andrew  D.  White,  Augustus  Schoonmaker  and  Henry 
A.  Richmond  as  the  first  Civil  Service  Commission  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  President  White  declined,  and  the 
Governor  appointed  in  his  place  John  Jay,  of  New  York. 
Their  first  meeting  was  at  Albany,  May  31,  1883.  They 
appointed  Silas  W.  Burt  Chief  Examiner.  He  had  served 
on  the  Governor's  official  staff  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
afterwards  became  Naval  Officer  of  the  Port  of  New  York. 
He  was  a  most  intelligent  administrator,  and  understood 
thoroughly  how  examinations  should  be  conducted.  In 
conjunction  with  the  commissioners  he  made  a  careful 
study  of  the  State  Civil  Service,  and  on  the  sixth 
of  December,  1883,  the  rules  for  examinations  and  the 
classification  of  the  officials  subject  to  these  rules  were 
approved  by  Governor  Cleveland.  Their  first  report  was 
made  to  him,  January  28,  1884. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  bill,  the  New 
York  Association  urged  upon  Mayor  Edson  to  avail 
himself  of  the  powers  conferred  upon  him,  and  to  adopt 
rules  for  admission  to  all  the  departments  of  the  city 
government  to  which  his  power  extended.  Like  appli 
cations  were  made  to  Mayor  Low  of  Brooklyn  and  to 
Mayor  Scoville  of  Buffalo  by  the  local  association.  All 
three  of  these  mayors  adopted  rules  in  reference  to  their 
particular  cities.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Police  Com- 


284       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

missioners  of  Buffalo  and  the  Police  Commissioner  of 
Brooklyn  promulgated  rules  for  admission  to  these  depart 
ments  of  the  city  government.  The  working  of  the  system, 
notwithstanding  some  defects  incident  to  the  adoption  of 
any  new  scheme,  was,  on  the  whole,  so  satisfactory  that 
the  Legislature  of  1884  amended  the  Act  of  1883  so  as  to 
require  the  mayors  of  all  the  cities  of  the  State,  twenty- 
five  in  number,  to  adopt  rules  for  admission  to  the  service 
of  all  the  departments  of  those  cities,  except  the  educa 
tional  departments.  These  rules  were  required  to  embody 
certain  provisions  prescribed  by  the  act  itself,  similar 
to  those  embodied  in  the  Federal  Act.  After  consulta 
tion  with  the  State  Commission,  rules  were  accordingly 
adopted  by  the  mayors  of  most  of  the  cities  in  the  State. 
Shepard  was  charged  by  Seth  Low,  who  was  then  Mayor  of 
Brooklyn,  with  the  duty  of  preparing  rules  for  that  city. 
Franklin  B.  Edson,  who  was  Mayor  of  New  York,  com 
missioned  me  to  draw  the  New  York  rules.  There  was  a 
friendly  rivalry  between  Shepard  and  myself  as  to  who 
should  first  submit  rules  for  the  approval  of  the  State 
Commission.  The  result  was  that  the  rules  for  each  city 
were  approved  at  the  same  time.  He  became  chairman  of 
the  Brooklyn  Commission,  and  I  of  the  New  York  Com 
mission.  Edwin  L.  Godkin,  and  my  classmate  in  Harvard 
Law  School,  E.  Randolph  Robinson,  were  my  associates. 
We  continued  in  office  throughout  the  successive  adminis 
trations  of  Mayors  Edson,  Grace  and  Hewitt.  When 
Hugh  J.  Grant  took  office  as  Mayor,  January  I,  1889, 
he  had  no  further  occasion  for  our  services. 

Russell  Sturgis  was  our  first  secretary.     A  more  com- 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        285 

petent  one  could  not  have  been  found.  We  took  a  small 
house  for  our  offices,  which  was  none  too  large  for  the 
proper  conduct  of  examinations.  When  Mayor  Grace 
came  into  office  January  I,  1885,  he  seemed  to  think  that 
the  business  of  the  commission  could  be  done  in  any  old 
place,  turned  us  out  of  our  quarters,  assigned  us  a  small 
room  in  the  City  Hall,  and  required  us  to  conduct  our 
examinations  wherever  we  could  find  a  vacant  room.  The 
City  College  allowed  us  the  use  of  some  of  its  rooms. 
We  obtained  quarters  wherever  we  could.  The  work  was 
thus  done  under  great  disadvantages,  but  it  was  done,  and 
justified  itself.  After  a  while  more  decent  quarters  were 
assigned  us,  and  the  Civil  Service  Department  is  now  as 
well  housed  as  any  branch  of  the  city  government. 

This  conduct  of  Mayor  Grace  reflected  the  sneer  com 
mon  at  the  time  among  politicians,  that  Civil  Service 
Reform  was  (to  use  the  phrase  of  one  of  the  Washington 
brethren)  "the  colossal  fraud  and  humbug  of  the  age." 
Mayor  Grace  did  not  think  this,  but  he  wanted  to  be 
practical  and  economical,  and  the  Civil  Service  depart 
ment  was  an  easy  victim. 

The  commissioners  in  every  city  worked  without 
salaries.  In  New  York,  we  paid  our  own  expenses, 
I  presume  other  commissioners  did  the  same.  We  were 
determined  that  no  personal  grievance  should  interfere 
with  the  embodiment  in  municipal  government  of  the 
merit  system. 

The  principal  difference  between  the  rules  which  I 
drew  and  those  drawn  by  Shepard  was  this :  He  assigned 
to  the  commissioners  the  actual  conduct  of  the  examin- 


286       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

at  ions.  This  was  the  practice  at  first  in  all  the  cities  of  the 
Empire  State  except  New  York.  I  knew  too  well  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  in  that  city,  to  adopt  this 
method,  and  provided  for  the  appointment  of  examiners. 
Police  Inspector  Byrnes  and  Fire  Battalion  Chief  Bonner 
served  for  years  in  this  capacity,  without  any  compensa 
tion  additional  to  their  regular  salary,  and  were  efficient 
and  intelligent. 

This  civil  service  legislation  omitted  any  reference  to 
the  tenure  of  office.  The  theory  of  this  omission  was 
aptly  expressed  by  Mr.  Curtis :  ' '  If  you  take  care  of  the 
front  door,  the  back  door  will  take  care  of  itself." 
The  root  of  most  unwise  removals  from  office  is  the 
desire  to  put  someone  in  the  place  of  the  person  removed. 
The  appointing  power  is  beset  by  political  leaders  who 
have  friends  to  reward,  and  enemies  to  punish;  a  place 
must  be  made,  and  somebody  is  turned  out  in  order  to 
provide  one. 

An  amusing  instance  occurred  during  my  term  as  Civil 
Service  Commissioner.  The  Commissioner  of  Jurors 
requested  that  the  position  in  his  office  should  be  put  on 
the  exempt  list.  We  asked  him  why.  His  answer  was 
that  he  wanted  men  under  him  whom  he  thought  were 
competent.  Our  reply  was:  "There  is  nothing  in  the 
Civil  Service  Rules  which  prevents  you  from  removing 
men  who  are  incompetent.  If  there  are  any  such  in  your 
office,  you  have  the  right  to  remove  them/'  His  answer 
was:  "Why  should  I  remove  a  man  unless  I  can  put  the 
man  I  want  in  his  place?" 

In  this  respect  the  new  system  is  in  contrast  to  that 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        287 

which  prevailed  in  the  city  of  New  York  before  its  adop 
tion.  This  gave  to  the  heads  of  departments  a  tenure 
practically  permanent  during  the  term  for  which  they  were 
appointed  and  to  the  chiefs  of  bureaus,  to  clerks,  to  police 
men,  and  to  firemen,  a  right  to  hold  the  offices  to  which 
they  were  appointed  until  removed  for  cause.  The 
courts  have  the  right  to  review  the  proceedings.  This 
places  difficulties  in  the  way  of  removing  unfit  persons,  and 
the  service  is  prejudiced.  Warned  by  these  evils,  the 
framers  of  the  new  legislation  made  no  attempt  to  regu 
late  the  tenure  of  office,  but  confined  themselves  exclusively 
to  prescribing  rules  for  admission  to  the  service.  In  later 
years  the  power  of  removal  has  been  restricted.  In  July, 
1897,  President  McKinley  promulgated  a  rule  that  an 
employee  in  the  classified  service  be  furnished  with  the 
reasons  for  removal  and  allowed  an  opportunity  to  reply 
thereto  before  he  can  be  removed.  The  opportunity  to 
reply  was  partially  taken  away  by  President  Roosevelt 
in  1905,  but  restored  by  President  Taft  in  191 1.1 

A  similar  rule  has  been  adopted  in  some  other  juris 
dictions.  In  Chicago  the  employee  is  given  a  hearing 
before~the  Civil  Service  Commission.2  This  method  is 
better  than  the  court  review. 

This  reform  legislation  embodies  the  theory  that  the 
offices  of  government  ought  not  to  be  the  prizes  of  political 
activity  or  the  rewards  of  personal  friendship,  but  that 
they  should  be  given,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  most 
suitable  persons.  Any  citizen  of  good  moral  character 

1  Report,  N.  C.  S.  League,  1911,  p.  52. 

2  Ibid.,  1912,  pp.  101-113. 


288        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

may  apply  for  an  appointment,  and  he  has  a  right  to  be 
examined  as  to  his  fitness  by  a  board  of  competent 
examiners. 

In  order  to  preserve  harmony  of  action  in  the  conduct 
of  these  examinations,  there  is  a  supervisory  board  which 
regulates  the  manner  in  which  they  shall  be  conducted 
and  considers  complaints  that  may  be  made  in  reference  to 
the  action  of  the  examiners  and  their  administration  of  the 
rules.  In  the  Federal  and  State  service,  this  supervisory 
authority  is  known  as  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

The  third  distinctive  feature  of  these  systems  is  that 
of  competitive  examinations.  In  1851  an  attempt  was 
made  to  regulate  admission  to  some  branches  of  the  Federal 
service  by  requiring  that  no  person  should  be  admitted  to 
any  one  of  them  until  he  had  passed  an  examination  as  to 
his  fitness.  No  person  could  be  examined  unless  he  was 
nominated  by  the  head  of  the  department  or  other  ap 
pointing  power.  To  reject  a  sole  applicant  was  always  a 
'disagreeable  task.  Examiners  felt  that  the  future  pre 
ferment  of  the  applicant  was  dependent  on  their  action. 
They  were  subject  to  the  importunities  of  the  applicant's 
friends.  The  practical  result  was  that  the  examinations, 
long  before  the  year  1880,  had  degenerated  into  a  farce. 
In  one  case  reported  to  me  the  only  question  asked  was 
— What  do  two  and  two  make? 

In  competitive  examinations  this  is  changed.  What 
the  examiners  are  required  to  do  is  to  select  from  the  whole 
number  of  applicants  those  who  are  most  fit.  This 
method  has  not  in  any  department  of  the  service  been 
made  universal.  In  departments  requiring  special  expert 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        289 

knowledge,  It  sometimes  happens  that  there  is  only  one 
applicant.  In  other  departments,  for  which  special  quali 
fications  are  required,  a  certain  preliminary  selection  by 
the  head  of  the  department  or  other  appointing  power  is 
essential. 

The  fourth  feature  of  the  merit  system  is  that  which 
gives  some  latitude  of  choice  to  the  appointing  power. 
An  examination,  however  well  conducted,  is  not  an  abso 
lute  test.  Local  or  temporary  conditions  may  affect  the 
candidate,  and  make  him,  though  really  most  meritorious, 
fall  behind  one  or  more  of  his  competitors.  In  order  to 
meet  this  difficulty,  it  is  provided  that,~after  the  examina 
tion  has  been  had,  the  examiner  shall  make  a  list  of  those 
who  are  most  meritorious  as  judged  by  the  result  of  the 
examinations.  This  is  known  as  the  eligible  list.  When 
there  are  vacancies  to  be  filled,  a  certain  number — in  some 
instances  three,  in  others  five — who  are  highest  on  'this  list 
as  it  stands  at  the  time,  are  sent  to  the  appointing  office. 
From  these  he  selects  such  persons  as  are  required  for 
the  needs  of  the  department.  Those  who  are  not  selected 
remain  on  the  eligible  list,  and  have  another  opportunity 
for  appointment. 

The  fifth  feature  is  that  of  probation.  There  are  certain 
qualities  of  efficiency  that  cannot  be  ascertained  by  pre 
liminary  examination;  and,  hence,  the  applicant  when 
appointed  submits  to  a  probationary  term,  during  which 
his  capacity  and  fitness  are  tested  by  actual  experiment, 
and  it  is  only  those  who  approve  themselves  upon  such 
probation  that  receive  final  appointment. 

One  incidental  advantage  of  the  application  of  the 


2QO       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

merit  system  to  the  city  of  New  York  was  its  tendency  to 
unify  the  heterogeneous  government  of  that  city.  The 
Police  Department,  for  example,  had  been  a  separate 
corporation.  When  first  created  in  1857,  its  commis 
sioners  were  appointed  by  the  Governor.  When  Mayor 
Edson  in  1884  prescribed  rules  for  admission  to  the 
Police  Department  the  commissioners  waited  on 
Godkin,  Robinson  and  myself,  and  expressed  surprise 
when  told  that  they  had  become  subject  to  the  juris 
diction  of  the  Mayor.  It  was  a  bitter  pill,  but  whole 
some  and  efficacious.  The  Police  Department  has 
never  since  been  as  active  in  politics  as  it  was  before 
that  year. 

There  is  probably  no  class  of  positions  in  the  city 
government  more  sought  for  than  those  in  the  Police  and 
Fire  Departments.  They  are  permanent,  the  salaries  are 
good  and  persons  disabled  in  the  service  are  pensioned. 
There  is  also  the  right  to  retire  on  a  pension  after  a  certain 
term  of  service.  The  general  scheme  of  examination  for 
policemen  and  firemen  is  this:  A  schedule  is  provided 
which  must  be  filled  by  the  applicant,  containing  a  de 
tailed  statement  as  to  his  health,  his  occupation  and  his 
experience.  He  is  then  examined  by  an  official  surgeon. 
The  scheme  of  the  surgical  examination  is  to  sift  out  the 
applicants  who,  by  reason  of  bodily  defect,  would  probably 
fail  under  the  severe  strain  to  which  firemen  and  police 
men  are  exposed.  The  applicant  is  next  examined  in 
reference  to  his  physical  aptitude.  This  portion  of  the 
examination  was  new.  Experience  indicated  that  a 
purely  medical  examination,  while  it  tends  to  reject  persons 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        291 

of  defective  organization,  fails  to  indicate  those  who  have 
physical  aptitude.  One  is  as  important  as  the  other. 
A  policeman  might  be  in  perfect  health ;  yet,  if  the  condi 
tion  of  his  frame  were  such  that  he  could  not  run,  that  he 
could  not  shoot  with  accuracy,  that  he  could  not  hold  his 
own  in  a  scuffle  with  a  burglar,  he  would  be  an  undesirable 
member  of  the  force. 

The  candidate  must  submit  references  from  responsible 
persons  as  to  his  habits  and  reputation.  Under  the  rules 
as  originally  drawn,  in  the  case  of  policemen,  the  Captain 
of  the  Precinct  in  which  the  applicant  resided  was  re 
quired  to  make  personal  enquiry,  and  to  report  the  results 
of  such  investigation.  In  the  case  of  firemen  this  duty  of 
enquiry  devolved  upon  the  Chief  of  Battalion.  En 
quiries  now  are  made  independently. 

These  statements  and  reports  are  laid  before  the  Exam 
ining  Board.  The  applicant  is  then  examined  as  to  his 
experience  in  any  position  tending  to  qualify  him  for  the 
service,  and  then  as  to  what  might  be  called  his  mental 
qualifications.  He  must  be  able  to  read,  to  write,  to  make 
a  clear  statement  of  the  substance  of  matter  orally  com 
municated,  to  answer  intelligently  questions  upon  the 
rules  of  the  Department  relating  to  the  duties  of  the  posi 
tion  applied  for:  and  he  is  further  to  be  questioned,  if  the 
application  is  for  a  position  as  policeman,  with  reference 
to  the  location  of  streets,  public  buildings,  and  other  sub 
jects  respecting  which  strangers  in  the  city  naturally  in 
quire.  In  the  case  of  firemen,  questions  are  directed  to  the 
location  of  streets,  and  the  location  and  construction  of 
buildings,  with  especial  reference  to  precautions  against 


292        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

fire.  With  these  data  the  Examining  Board  makes  up  a 
statement  of  results. 

The  Police  examiners,  having  previously  given  each 
applicant  a  copy  of  the  rules  of  the  Department  relating 
to  the  power  and  duty  of  policemen,  state  to  him  cases, 
preferably  actual  cases,  and  ask  the  applicant  what  he 
would  do  under  the  circumstances  indicated,  and  what  his 
powers  would  be,  should  he  be  appointed  a  policeman. 

Dorman  B.  Eaton  took  'much  interest  in  the  appli 
cation  of  the  merit  system  to  the  municipal  service.  Let 
me  here  insert  a  letter  which  will  show  how  ready  he  was, 
notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  official  duties,  to  aid  us  in 
New  York. 

BRATTLEBORO,  Vx.,  Aug.  27, 1884. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

As  you  expressed  a  wish  to  see  my  letter  about  assessments, 
I  enclose  you  a  copy,  which  I  had  overlooked.  You  will  see 
that  I  have  appealed  to  the  pride,  self-respect  and  sense  of 
duty  of  those  in  the  service: — a  kind  of  argument  which  I 
think  will  not  be  without  effect.  Indeed  I  know  it  has  not  been. 

I  will  be  much  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  send  me  a  copy  of 
the  Rules  and  Regulations  recently  adopted  for  the  City  of 
New  York,  whether  relating  to  the  Police  or  other  departments. 

In  the  notice  I  saw  of  them  in  the  Times,  it  did  not  appear 
that  the  applicant  was  required  to  state  what  had  been  his 
occupation  and  residence  for  the  last  five  or  other  number  of 
years.  In  the  National  service  we  have  found  such  a  require 
ment  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  salutary — indeed  no  other 
perhaps  is  so  much  so.  It  seems  to  me  that  to  appoint  a 
policeman  without  such  a  statement,  under  oath,  concerning 
himself,  is  to  needlessly  forego  a  most  valuable  precaution. 

Yours  very  truly, 

D.  B.  EATON. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        293 

The  cardinal  rule  in  reference  to  all  examinations  is 
that  they  shall  relate  to  such  matters  as  will  fairly  test 
the  relative  capacity  and  fitness  of  the  persons  examined 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  position  to  which  they 
seek  to  be  appointed.  It  is  often  said  that  the  ex 
aminations  test  merely  theoretical  knowledge  such  as 
can  be  learned  from  books,  and  not  practical  efficiency. 
Examinations  might  be  defective  in  these  particulars 
but  such  would  be  in  violation  of  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  the  rules. 

One  criticism  that  was  made  in  regard  to  the  practi 
cal  conduct  of  the  examinations  was  derived  from  the 
hasty  observations  of  a  reporter.  We  had  not  convinced 
Mayor  Grace  that  special  apartments  should  be  pro 
vided  for  the  use  of  the  Examining  Boards.  Many 
examinations  during  his  term  were  conducted  in  the 
Greek  Professor's  room  in  the  City  College.  Greek  sen 
tences  were  often  seen  on  the  blackboard.  A  reporter 
jumped  at  the  conclusion  that  the  applicants  for  positions 
in  the  departments  were  being  examined  on  these  Greek 
sentences,  which  were,  however,  the  work  of  the  college 
students,  and  had  no  relation  to  the  Civil  Service  examin 
ations.  A  criticism  equally  judicious  was  made  by 
Thurlow  Weed,  when  he  said  that  many  men  who  had  been 
most  successful  in  life  would  have  failed  to  pass  a  Civil 
Service  examination :  and  he  instanced  the  case  of  George 
Law,  who  could  hardly  write  legibly  and  who  never  wrote 
without  making  gross  mistakes  in  spelling.  Mr.  Law  was 
a  successful  contractor,  but  he  was  hardly  the  person  one 
would  have  desired  as  a  copyist,  if  he  could  not  write  and 


294       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

could  not  spell.  In  clerical  positions  there  can  be  no 
difficulty  in  ascertaining  by  actual  test  an  applicant's 
readiness  in  writing.  If  you  want  a  short-hand  writer, 
his  facility  and  accuracy  can  easily  be  determined  from 
the  results  of  dictation.  If  you  want  a  type-writer,  his 
work  will  speak  for  itself.  A  bookkeeper's  acquaint 
ance  with  that  art  can  readily  be  determined  by  a  person 
familiar  with  it.  The  examination  that  would  be  directed 
to  testing  an  applicant's  fitness  for  such  positions  would  be 
different  from  that  which  would  test  the  capacity  of  a 
nurse  to  care  for  the  sick,  of  a  prison  guard  to  watch  over 
the  prisoners  for  whose  safe-keeping  he  is  responsible,  of 
an  engineer  to  supervise  the  construction  of  an  aqueduct. 
There  is  no  magic  in  a  Civil  Service  examination:  and, 
if  the  examiners  are  not  intelligent  and  competent  men, 
they  will  make  mistakes,  and  the  result  of  their  examin 
ations  will  not  be  satisfactory.  But  the  same  difficulty 
exists  under  the  spoils  system.  In  all  cases  there  must 
be  a  selection.  A  dozen  men  apply  for  a  place,  and  some 
body  must  select  from  that  dozen.  Experience  shows, 
wherever  the  new  system  has  been  adopted,  that  the 
clerks,  engineers,  orderlies  and  all  persons  selected  under 
it,  are,  on  an  average,  more  competent  and  faithful  than 
those  chosen  under  the  old  system. 

Take,  for  example,  the  New  York  Post  Office.  Let 
ters  are  delivered  now  more  punctually  than  they  were 
thirty  years  ago.  Mr.  Pearson  reported  in  1883  that, 
"while  the  bulk  of  mail  handled  had  increased  in  1882 
37.30  per  cent,  over  that  handled  in  1874,  the  cost  of 
the  service  required  in  handling  it  was  twenty  percent. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        295 

less  during  the  former  than  during  the  latter  year.1"  A 
letter  now  (1916)  mailed  at  Wall  Street  at  noon  is  deliv 
ered  in  Seventy-first  Street  by  five  o'clock.  Such 
dispatch  was  unknown  under  the  old  system.  Appoint 
ments  in  this  post  office  are  made  as  the  result  of  Civil 
Service  examinations.  Clerks  who  are  to  be  employed  in 
sorting  letters  are  set  to  sorting  letters:  and  their  pro 
ficiency  is  graded  from  the  result  of  this  practical  test.  So, 
in  the  Custom  House,  the  clerks  who  are  to  compute  du 
ties  are  assigned  certain  problems  similar  to  those  which 
will  arise  in  practical  experience.  All  Civil  Service 
examinations  should  be  practical.  If  not,  they  fail  to 
accomplish  their  purpose. 

Now,  let  me  relate  one  of  the  most  notable  demon 
strations  that  the  friends  of  Civil  Service  reform  ever 
gave.  Senator  Pendleton's  term  expired  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  1885.  It  had  for  years  been  customary  in 
Ohio  to  have  one  Democratic  and  one  Republican  Senator. 
John  Sherman  was  for  many  years  the  Republican 
Senator  and  George  H.  Pendleton  took  the  place  on 
the  Democratic  side,  which  had  been  filled  by  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  and  one  of  the  most  upright  men  in 
the  country,  Allan  Thurman.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
election  of  a  Senator  to  succeed  Pendleton  the  Democrats 
carried  the  Legislature.  Mr.  Payne  had  taken  an  active 
part  in  the  canvass  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  the 
Democratic  Legislature  in  Ohio,  and  claimed  an  election 
to  the  Senate  as  the  reward  for  his  party  services.  He 
was  a  successful  business  man,  but  no  one  could  pretend 

1  First  report  N.  Y.  State  Civil  Service  Commission,  p.  270. 


296       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

that  his  competence  for  the  great  position  of  Senator 
was  comparable  to  that  of  Pendleton.  Nevertheless, 
a  majority  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the  Ohio 
Legislature  voted  in  caucus  for  Payne  as  successor  to 
Pendleton.  Local  aid  in  carrying  an  election  weighed 
more  with  them  than  the  great  public  service  and  the 
marked  ability  of  the  Senator.  The  Democratic  minority 
and  the  Republican  members  of  the  Legislature  offered 
to  Pendleton  to  vote  for  him  if  he  would  accept  an  election 
at  their  hands.  They  were  a  majority  of  the  Legislature 
and  could  have  elected  him,  but  his  reply,  as  I  was  told 
at  the  time,  was  that  he  did  not  consider  it  consistent 
with  his  duty  to  his  party  to  accept  an  election  under 
such  circumstances.  Accordingly  the  decision  of  the  cau 
cus  prevailed,  and  Payne  became  Senator  from  the  State 
of  Ohio  to  succeed  Pendleton  on  the  fourth  day  of  March. 

Cleveland  recognized  Pendleton' s  statesmanship,  his 
high  character,  extensive  acquaintance  with  affairs  and 
unusual  tact,  and  accordingly  appointed  him  Minister 
to  Berlin. 

The  Civil  Service  Reformers  determined  to  give  him  a 
public  dinner  before  he  should  sail.  The  story  of  that 
dinner  can  best  be  told  in  two  contemporary  documents. 
The  first  is  a  letter  from  Senator  Bayard. 

WASHINGTON,  April  20,  1885. 

HON.  EVERETT  P.  WHEELER, 

NEW  YORK. 
DEAR  SIR: 

The  formal  invitation  of  the  friends  of  Civil  Service  Reform 
to  the  dinner  at  Delmonico's  on  the  28th  inst.  in  honor  of 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        297 

George  H.  Pendleton,  came  yesterday,  and  I  have  also  your 
personal  letter  of  the  I5th. 

My  duties  here  will  not  permit  me  to  leave  Washington 
just  now,  or  I  should  have  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity 
to  pay  respect  to  Mr.  Pendleton,  and  made  expression  of  the 
great  satisfaction  with  which  I  see  him  honored  at  any  time, 
and  especially  as  now  in  connection  with  reformation  in  the 
Civil  Service. 

The  full  results  of  the  act  introduced  by  Mr.  Pendleton 
into  Congress  cannot  be  suddenly  accomplished,  but  the  prin 
ciple  once  established,  as  I  trust  it  now  has  been,  the  growth 
will  be  gradual  and  sure. 

Recognition  that  the  service  of  the  public  is  the  reason  why 
offices  are  created,  and  public  use,  and  not  personal  nor  party 
ends,  is  to  be  the  controlling  object  and  intent  in  filling  offices, 
is  growing  in  the  popular  mind,  and  at  last  finding  favor. 

The  ministerial  officers  who  are  competent  and  faithful  are 
freed  from  apprehension  of  capricious  reward  as  heretofore 
for  partizan  reasons  and  the  good  result  of  this  cannot  fail  to 
extend  more  widely  the  rule  of  making  merit  and  efficiency 
the  test  of  obtaining  and  retaining  office. 

Partizan  bitterness  will  be  abated  when  official  interference 
with  elections  is  lessened — and  "rewards  and  punishments" 
in  the  bestowal  of  office  will  come  to  be  held  an  illegitimate  use 
of  power. 

In  the  nature  of  things,  reforms  must  be  gradual,  but  a 
comparison  of  what  has  been  witnessed  since  March  4th  with 
that  of  any  change  in  the  administration  for  twenty  years 
past,  must  compel  the  admission  that  reform  has  made  real 
and  gratifying  progress  in  the  Civil  Service. 

I  hope  it  will  steadily  continue,  and  I  am  truly  and  respect 
fully  yours, 

T.  F.  BAYARD. 

Bishop  Potter  also  wrote: 

Of  all  men  in  public  life,  he  deserves  to  be  especially  honored 
for  his  courage  in  behalf  of  a  cause  alike  unpopular  and  mis- 


298        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

understood  when  he  became  its  champion,  and  in  behalf  of 
which  he  has  rendered  service  which  I  rejoice  to  believe  his 
country  will  not  easily  forget.  It  is  a  matter  of  profound 
thankfulness  that  our  country  is  to  have  so  distinguished  and 
competent  a  representative  in  the  German  capital. 

The  dinner  was  had  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  April, 
1885.  In  the  Post  of  the  next  day  Mr.  Godkin  gave  the 
following  account  of  it. 

A  WONDERFUL  SPECTACLE 

The  dinner  to  Mr.  Pendleton  was  very  remarkable  in  more 
ways  than  one.  It  is  not  over  four  years  since  a  proposal  to 
hold  a  fete  of  any  kind  in  honor  of  civil  service  reform  would 
have  been  received  with  favor  only  by  a  handful  of  enthusiasts. 
Men  who  consider  themselves  practical  would  have  cared  as 
little  for  a  fete  in  honor  of  universal  peace.  Last  night,  how 
ever,  it  was  impossible  to  find  room  for  nearly  all  those  who 
wished  to  give  Mr.  Pendleton  a  dinner  in  recognition  of  his 
services  in  introducing  the  plan  of  filling  the  subordinate  places 
in  the  public  service  by  means  of  competitive  examination. 
Every  table  contained  men  who  within  four  years  have  been 
sneering  at  the  " school-marm  test"  and  treating  advocacy 
of  change  as  a  proposal  to  establish  the  millennium.  Such 
conspicuous  Elaine  champions  as  Messrs.  Cyrus  W.  Field 
and  Stephen  B.  Elkins  lent  their  countenance  to  the  idea 
which  the  dinner  distinctly  supported,  that  civil  service  reform 
was  the  most  important  question  of  the  day,  more  important 
even  than  the  "great  continental  policy"  or  the  salvation  of 
the  working  men  from  having  their  wages  lowered  by  a  ruth 
less  free-trade  administration. 

In  fact,  there  were  reasons  visible  on  every  side  for  consider 
ing  the  assemblage  one  of  the  oddest  that  had  ever  been  got 
together  in  that  room.  There  were  converts  present  whose 
experience  must  have  been  somewhat  like  that  of  Saul  on  his 
way  to  Damascus,  in  the  matter  of  suddenness  and  complete 
ness  of  conviction,  mixed  up  with  men  who  had  been  civil 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        299 

service  reformers  for  twenty  years,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
detect  from  outward  signs  which  were  which.  Everybody 
present,  to  all  outward  seeming,  had  opposed  the  spoils  system 
ever  since  he  began  to  read.  Mr.  Pendleton's  speech  was  a 
manly  but  very  modest  expression  of  the  importance  he 
attached  to  the  movement,  and  of  his  own  pride  in  the  part 
he  had  played  in  it. 

Every  allusion  to  the  President's  sincerity  in  carrying  out 
the  reform  was  received  with  great  applause.  It  was  quite 
evident  that  the  audience  was  not  disposed  to  be  too  censor 
ious  over  occasional  stumblings  and  haltings  as  long  as  there 
was  progress  in  the  right  direction.  Not  the  least  welcome 
and  graceful  part  of  Mr.  Pendleton's  speech  was  his  acknow 
ledgment  of  his  obligations  to  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton  in  the 
preparation  and  pushing  of  his  bill. 

The  obligations  of  the  cause  of  civil  service  reform,  in  fact, 
to  Mr.  Eaton,  are  immense,  and  it  is  but  fitting  that  on  an 
occasion  like  this  they  should  receive  mention.  Nobody  has 
spent  himself  so  completely  in  its  service,  has  given  to  it  so 
freely  of  his  time  and  money,  or  has  served  it  with  so  much 
knowledge  and  industry. 

Perhaps  the  most  gratifying  and  encouraging  thing  in  the 
speeches  was  the  general  abandonment  of  the  old  doctrine 
that  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  reform  of  civil  service  is 
"to  turn  the  rascals  out"  and  put  "none  but  good  men  in 
office. "  Everybody  seems  now  ready  to  admit  that  there  must 
be  machinery  created  by  law  for  marking  out  both  the  ras 
cals  and  the  good  men — that,  in  other  words,  there  must  be 
registered  United  States  brand  for  both  classes.  The  old 
assumption  that  your  own  men  are  all  good,  and  those  of  the 
other  party  rascals,  has  broken  down — in  practice.  Mr. 
Dorsheimer,  in  his  clever  and  amusing  speech,  was  the  only 
speaker  who  referred  to  that  still  earlier  plan  of  reforming  the 
civil  service,  on  which  much  reliance  has  been  placed,  by 
reforming  the  individual  man.  In  the  old  Conkling  days  it  was 
a  favorite  view  among  politicans  that  to  reform  the  civil 
service  thoroughly  and  radically  you  should  begin  with  the 
office  seeker  in  his  early  childhood,  and  give  him  and  his 


300       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

family  a  judicious  course  of  moral  discipline,  which  would 
cause  him,  in  case  he  got  an  office  when  he  reached  manhood, 
to  fill  it  with  fidelity  and  efficiency.  In  the  meantime,  we 
need  hardly  say,  the  old  spoils  system  was  to  continue  in  force. 
This  plan  is  now  entirely  given  up.  We  are  no  longer  asked  to 
wait  for  the  improvement  of  the  Government  service  through 
a  general  up-lifting  of  human  nature. 


George  William  Curtis  presided  and  after  the  dinner 
sent  me  the  following  letter : 

April  29,  1885. 

&[Y  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER  : 

As  I  declined  to  sign  the  invitation  to  Mr.  Pendleton,  not 
from  any  want  of  regard^to  him  but  for  reasons  which  I  stated 
to, you,  I  am  especially  glad  to  congratulate  you  upon  the 
great  success  of  the  dinner  which  as  you  believed  in  advance 
cannot  fail  to  .be  of  signal  service  to  the  good  cause. 

The  arrangements  were  in  every  way  admirable,  and  we 
are  all  deeply  indebted  to  you  gentlemen  of  the  Committee 
who  manage(J  everything  to  the  best  result.  I  need  not  say 
again  how  sensible  I  am  of  the  high  honor  that  you  conferred 
upon  me  in  asking  me  to  preside. 

Very  truly  yours, 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

Now  I  must  recur  to  the  administration  of  the  merit 
system  in  the  City  of  New  York.  Hugh  J.  Grant  was 
elected  Mayor  of  that  City  in  November,  1888,  and  when 
he  took  office -on  the  first  of  January,  1889,  he  appointed 
as  Civil  Service  Commissioners  to  succeed  Mr.  Godkin, 
Mr.  Robinson  and  myself,  James  Thomson,  William 
Hildreth  Field  and  Henry  Marquand.  They  continued  in 
.  office  under  the  administration  of  Mayor  Grant  and  the 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        301 

greater  part  of  that  of  his  successor,  Thomas  F.  Gilroy. 
In  their  report  for  1892  they  say: 

No  sweeping  or  radical  changes  of  method  have  been 
contemplated  and  none  have  seemed  desirable.  The  Bureau 
was  turned  over  to  them  in  good  working  order,  and  they 
believe  its  efficiency  remains  unimpaired. 

In  1894  Daniel  P.  Hays  and  Lemuel  Skidmore  were 
the  Commissioners.  They  investigated  charges  that  cer-' 
tain  candidates  for  the  position  of  patrolman  had  procured 
other  persons  to  personate  them  on  the  examinatioji. 
They  found  these  charges  to  be  well  founded  and  struck 
from  the  eligible  list  the  names  of  these  fraudulent 
candidates. 

They  also  recommended  to  the  Mayor  that  officials 
in  the  Police,  Fire  and  Park  Departments  be  no  longer 
employed  as  Examiners.  This  practice  had  been  adopted 
at  the  outset  for  reasons  of  economy.  But  the  increase 
in  the  extent  of  the  classified  service  made  it  no  longer 
desirable.  The  recommendation  was  finally  adopted. 

In  1894  a  change  took  place  in  local  politics  and  William 
L.  Strong  was  elected  Mayor.  Before  he  took  office, 
January  I,  1895,  he  conferred  with  me  in.  regard  to  the 
organization  of  the  Civil  Service  system.  It  seemed 
to  us  that  in  view  of  the  great  extension  >of  the  classified 
service  it  would  be  better  to  enlarge  the  number  of  the 
Board,  and  accordingly  the  number  was  changed  to  five. 
He  appointed  me  chairman  of  the  Board,  with  my  former 
associates,  Mr.  Godkin  and  Mr.  Robinson,  as  members. 
The  two  new  members  were  J.  Van  Vechten  Olcott  and 
Charles  W.  Watson.  Mr.  Godkin  and  Mr.  Robinson 


302       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

were  afterwards  succeeded  by  W.  Bayard  Cutting  and 
William  J.  Schieffelin. 

With  the  Mayor's  approval  we  revised  the  rules  and  the 
classification,  and  improved  the  efficiency  of  the  service. 
Mayor  Strong,  more  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  felt 
the  importance  of  cooperation  between  the  different 
heads  of  departments,  and  used  to  assemble  them  in  con 
ference.  He  called  us  his  Cabinet,  and  we  found  these 
consultations  very  useful. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Civil  Service  Board  had  a  general 
supervision  over  all  the  departments,  it  seemed  appropri 
ate  that  there  should  be  a  general  meeting  at  my  house, 
and  accordingly  I  gave  a  dinner  to  the  heads  of  the  differ 
ent  departments  on  the  tenth  of  May.  Mayor  Strong,  of 
course,  was  there,  and  so  were  my  colleagues  of  the  Civil 
Service  Board.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  who  was  then  Police  Com 
missioner,  was  also  one  of  my  guests,  and  General  Collis, 
Commissioner  of  Public  Works.  The  conference  was 
helpful  to  us  all. 

One  of  the  serious  problems  that  Civil  Service  admini 
strators  have  to  face  is  that  of  suitable  examinations 
for  promotion.  We  required  that  a  record  should  be  kept 
of  the  conduct  and  efficiency  of  officials  in  the  different 
grades,  but  experience  showed  that  these  records  often 
failed  to  record  the  conduct  of  the  officer.  Again,  fitness 
for  promotion  depends  very  much  upon  the  ability  to 
direct  subordinates,  and  this  is  a  quality  very  difficult 
to  test  by  examination. 

When,  during  Mayor  Hewitt's  administration,  in 
1887,  there  were  two  vacancies  in  the  important  position 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        303 

of  Inspector  of  the  Police,  the  Mayor  sent  for  his  Com 
missioners  and  conferred  with  us  in  regard  to  an  examin 
ation  for  promotion.  He  felt  it  important  that  this  should 
be  had.  At  the  same  time  we  all  perceived  the  difficulty 
involved.  He  requested  us  to  conduct  the  examination 
personally,  and  we  did.  We  introduced  an  oral  examin 
ation.  We  examined  each  applicant  separately  and 
questioned  him  in  regard  to  the  various  subjects  that 
would  form  a  part  of  his  duty  if  he  should  be  appointed 
Inspector.  A  stenographer  took  down  the  questions  and 
answers.  The  written  questions  turned  on  the  same 
subjects,  as  for  example:  "How  should  a  Police  Inspector 
conduct  himself  in  case  of  a  riot  or  an  extensive  con 
flagration?  What  steps  might  he  take  to  detect  crime?" 
and  the  like.  We  reported  the  result  of  our  examination 
to  the  Mayor,  and  he  in  his  turn  appointed  the  two  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  list,  Captain  Peter  Conlin  and 
Captain  Alexander  S.  Williams.  On  the  whole  the  result 
of  the  examination  was  satisfactory  to  the  Mayor,  to 
the  public  and  to  the  force. 

When  the  great  Chinese  Prince,  Li  Hung  Chang,  came 
to  this  country  for  a  tour  of  observation,  he  visited  New 
York.  The  Mayor  called  upon  the  Prince  and  in  turn 
invited  him  to  visit  the  Mayor's  office  in  the  City  Hall. 
Mayor  Strong  requested  some  of  his  Cabinet  to  be  pre 
sent.  I  gladly  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  con 
verse  with  this  visiting  statesman.  He  was  a  handsome 
man,  with  high  cheek  bones,  strongly  marked  Tartar  fea 
tures,  six  feet  three  in  height,  his  whole  frame  proportion 
ate  to  his  height.  He  would  have  been  a  commanding 


304       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

figure  anywhere.  The  usual  courtesies  passed,  and  the 
Tartar  Prince  rose.  But  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that 
I  would,  if  possible,  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to 
converse  with  him  in  regard  to  the  Chinese  Civil  Ser 
vice  examinations.  Accordingly,  I  said  to  the  interpre 
ter  that  I  was  Chief  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission 
in  New  York  City:  that  I  knew  there  had  been  ex 
aminations  for  admission  and  promotion  in  the  Chinese 
Civil  Service  for  centuries,  and  that  I  should  be  glad 
to  learn  something  from  the  experience  of  that  great 
people.  The  Prince  smiled,  took  his  seat,  and  evidently 
welcomed  the  enquiry.  I  told  him  that  the  greatest 
difficulty  we  had  had  in  our  administration  was  in  regu 
lating  examinations  for  promotion,  and  asked  him  to  give 
me  the  results  of  Chinese  experience.  The  Prince  had 
what  is  supposed  to  be  a  Yankee  fashion  of  answering 
one  question  by  asking  another,  and  without  answering 
my  question  directly  he  proceeded  to  inquire  in  regard  to 
the  administration  of  the  Civil  Service  in  New  York  City. 
I  pressed  my  enquiry,  and  he  replied  that  the  lessons  which 
he  had  learned  from  the  Chinese  system  were  these : 

r  It  is  important  to  pay  your  officials  an  adequate  salary, 
otherwise  they  will  be  tempted  to  peculation.  It  is  also  im 
portant  to  send  officials  to  serve  in  some  Province  other 
than  that  of  their  birth.  We  find  a  great  temptation  in 
one's  native  province  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  personal 
friends. 

Then  the  Prince  rose,  bowed  with  dignity,  and  we 
parted  with  mutual  respect. 

Let  me  close  this  record  of  my  experience  in  the  Civil 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        305 

Service  Board  with  some  reference  to  my  two  colleagues 
in  the  original  Board. 

In  Mr.  Ogden's  interesting  Life  of  Mr.  Godkin,  there  is 
one  omission.  He  says  that  Mr.  Godkin  did  not  have 
the  opportunity  to  show  the  constructive  side  of  his  char 
acter.  In  his  services  on  the  Civil  Service  Board  he  did 
have  such  an  opportunity  and  availed  himself  of  it.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  preparation  of  the  regulations. 
They  were  approved  by  the  State  Civil  Service  Commis 
sion,  August  23, 1884,  and  took  effect  on  the  2Qth  of  August 
in  the  same  year.  On  the  latter  date  we  took  office. 
Godkin  took  his  full  part  in  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Civil  Service  of  New  York  City,  which  had  become  chaotic. 
The  different  parts  had  no  correlation.  It  was  impossible 
that  we  should  complete  the  reconstruction  by  any  set  of 
rules,  but  we  did  accomplish  a  great  improvement,  which 
some  of  our  successors  have  still  further  developed.  The 
success  of  the  Merit  System  depended  in  great  measure 
upon  the  efficiency  of  its  application  to  the  varied  condi 
tions  of  municipal  service.  This  required  constructive 
ability  of  the  first  rank.  Godkin  exhibited  this,  and 
the  mayors  under  whom  he  served  and  the  whole  Board 
appreciated  it. 

The  other  member  of  the  Board,  E.  Randolph  Robin 
son,  also  cooperated  efficiently.  Robinson  and  I  were 
together  in  the  Law  School  at  Cambridge.  He  was  a 
Virginian,  a  great-grandson  of  Randolph,  the  Attorney- 
General  under  Washington,  and  a  graduate  of  the  Univer 
sity  of  Pennsylvania.  Soon  after  he  left  Harvard  Law 
School  he  came  to  New  York  and  went  into  partnership 


20 


306       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

with  Henry  A.  Cram.  Mr.  Cram's  retirement  soon  after 
gave  Robinson  his  opportunity,  and  he  rose  to  the  front 
rank  at  the  Bar.  He  was  about  six  feet  two  inches  in 
height,  with  a  frame  unusually  well  proportioned.  He 
often  reminded  me  in  his  figure  and  bearing  of  the  descrip 
tion  we  have  of  George  Washington. 

Robinson's  death  was  untimely.  He  had  been  driving 
from  Narragansett  to  Newport  in  the  summer  of  1896,  on 
an  exceedingly  hot  day,  and  had  a  slight  sun-stroke.  He 
neglected  it,  and  came  to  New  York  to  attend  an  import 
ant  meeting  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  We  met  at 
his  house,  but  alas,  he  was  unable  to  be  present,  and 
shortly  after  was  taken  from  us  by  death. 

The  Civil  Service  administration  in  New  York  City 
on  the  whole  has  been  a  great  success,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  an  important  part  of  this  success  is  due 
to  the  intelligence,  efficiency  and  devotion  of  these  two 
men,  who,  without  salary  or  other  reward  but  the  con 
sciousness  of  the  discharge  of  public  duty,  served  on  the 
Civil  Service  Board  from  the  time  of  its  organization. 

In  1894  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  and  the 
various  other  municipalities  comprised  in  the  limits  of 
what  is  now  Greater  New  York  voted  in  favor  of  con 
solidation.  A  bill  to  carry  this  vote  into  effect  passed 
the  Legislature  in  1895.  A  Charter  Commission  proposed 
a  new  Charter.  The  first  election  under  this  Charter  was 
had  in  November,  1897,  and  Robert  A.  Van  Wyck  was 
elected  Mayor. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1898,  each  of  my  associates 
and  myself  received  a  communication  signed  by  him, 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        307 

mailed  the  previous  day,  in  which  he  informed  us  that 
in  his  opinion  the  public  interest  would  be  promoted  by 
our  removal,  and  he  accordingly  removed  each  of  us  from 
office.  This  was,  in  my  opinion,  the  highest  compliment 
that  he  could  have  paid  us.  We  were  glad  not  to  serve 
under  him. 

During  his  administration  no  progress  of  importance 
was  made  in  the  extension  of  the  Merit  System  to  other 
positions,  or  in  the  development  of  methods  of  examin 
ation.  When  Seth  Low  became  Mayor,  January  i,  1902, 
he  appointed  a  new  Board  of  five  Commissioners.  He  was 
himself  a  cordial  friend  of  the  system.  Under  his  adminis 
tration  and  that  of  his  successors  much  has  been  done  to 
extend  the  classified  service  and  improve  methods  of 
examination.  Mayor  Gay  nor  went  so  far  in  1911  as  to 
direct  that  in  all  cases  the  candidate  at  the  head  of  the 
eligible  list  should  be  appointed  to  the  first  vacancy. 
The  Commissioners  have  become  salaried  officials,  and  de 
vote  a  great  deal  of  time  to  their  responsible  duties.  On 
the  whole,  heads  of  departments  have  come  to  realize  the 
intrinsic  advantages  of  the  system  and  that  without  it 
honest  and  efficient  administration  would  be  impossible. 

Time  fails  me  to  relate  in  detail  the  continued  work  of 
the  Civil  Service  reform  associations  and  the  steady  exten 
sion  of  the  system.  Their  success  is  signal.  New  York 
in  1894  adopted  this  constitutional  amendment  (Article 
V,§9): 

Appointments  and  promotions  in  the  Civil  Service  of  the 
state,  and  of  all  the  civil  divisions  thereof,  including  cities  and 
villages,  shall  be  made  according  to  merit  and  fitness  to  be 


308        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

ascertained,  so  far  as  practicable,  by  examinations,  which,  so 
far  as  practicable,  shall  be  competitive;  provided,  however, 
that  honorably  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors  from  the  army 
and  navy  of  the  United  States  in  the  late  Civil  War,  who  are 
citizens  and  residents  of  this  State,  shall  be  entitled  to  pref 
erence  in  appointment  and  promotion  without  regard  to  their 
standing  on  any  list  from  which  such  appointment  or  promo 
tion  may  be  made.  Laws  shall  be  made  to  provide  for  the 
enforcement  of  this  section. 

Ohio  in  1912  adopted  a  similar  'amendment.  Beside 
the  New  York  Civil  Service  Act  of  1883,  and  that  of 
Massachusetts,  adopted  immediately  afterwards,  Civil 
Service  statutes  have  been  passed  in  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  Colorado  and  California.  In  some  states  these 
statutes  are  more  comprehensive  than  in  others.  In 
some,  as  in  New  Jersey,  the  law  is  applied  only  to  those 
municipalities  who  determine  by  popular  vote  to  adopt 
the  system.  In  1910  the  system  had  been  put  into  oper 
ation  in  217  cities  in  the  United  States.1  In  many  of 
these  cities  it  is  required  that  laborers  shall  be  appointed 
from  a  list  of  fit  persons  made  up  in  the  Civil  Service 
office.  This  same  method  was  adopted  in  the  Federal 
service  in  1902  by  an  executive  order  requiring  the  appoint 
ment  of  unclassified  laborers  in  the  order  of  their  fitness  for 
the  performance  of  unskilled  labor. 2 

In  '1895  President  Cleveland  made  an  attempt  to  intro 
duce  order  into  the  Consular  service  by  requiring  examin 
ations  for  admission.  Appointments  in  that  department 

1  Report  N.  C.  S.  League,  1911,  p.  116. 
*  U.  S.  Civil  Service  Rules,  1910,  p.  67. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        309 

had  previously  been  chiefly  political.  The  examinations 
for  admission  required  by  him  were  not  applied  to  all 
consuls,  and  progress  at  first  was  slow.  A  bill  which  classi 
fied,  regulated  and  graded  the  Consular  service  was 
recommended  by  President  Roosevelt  and  passed  April 
5,  1906.  The  following  June  29,  1906,  the  President 
issued  an  executive  order  carrying  this  act  into  effect 
and  requiring  examinations  for  admission  to  the  service. 
Elihu  Root  was  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  under  his 
direction  great  improvement  was  made.  President  Taft 
extended  the  system  in  1910  to  secretaries  in  the  diplo 
matic  service.  This  application  of  the  merit  system  had 
been  proposed  by  Senator  Morgan,  of  Alabama,  in  1895, 
and  by  Senator  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts,  in  1896. 

The  examinations  have  been  kept  up  to  ahigh  standard  and  the 
personnel  of  the  foreign  service  has  been  materially  improved. r 

At  the  introduction  of  the  system  in  the  Federal  'ser 
vice,  only  14,000  employees  were  in  the  classified  service 
list.  June  30,  1910,  222,278  were  in  the  classified  list, 
subject  to  appointment  only  after  competitive  examin 
ation.  This  is  exclusive  of  laborers.  The  whole  number 
of  persons  at  that  time  in  the  Civil  Service  of  the  United 
States  was  384,088. 2  In  New  York  City  the  number  of 
persons  included  in  the  classified  schedule  was  55,000  in 
1910,  as  against  7271  in  1887. 

The  merit  system  has  been  put  in  effective  operation 
in  the  Philippines  and  in  Porto  Rico. 

This  extension  of  the  system  has  been  accompanied 

1  Report,  N.  C.  S.  League,  1913,  p.  114. 
*Idemt  1910,  pp.  86,  115. 


310        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

by  an  increase  in  efficiency  and  a  diminution  in  propor 
tionate  expense.  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
Charles  S.  Hamlin,  who  is  now  Governor  of  the  Federal 
Reserve  Board,  estimated  the  saving  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  as  "at  least  twenty-five  per  cent,  in  cost. 
From  the  point  of  efficiency,  I  believe  the  saving  to  have 
been  still  greater. " x 

When  appointments  in  the  public  service  were  largely 
made  as  the  result  either  of  political  favoritism  or  personal 
friendship,  the  natural  result  was  that  the  servants  of  the 
Government  felt  their  loyalty  due  rather  to  the  person 
who  secured  their  appointment  than  to  the  Government 
which  they  served.  This  feeling  led  to  corruption. 
Willis  L.  Moore,  chief  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau,  makes  this  statement: 

I  was  an  employee  of  the  old  Federal  service  a  third  of  a 
century  ago,  when  there  was  no  civil  service,  and  when, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  corruption  was  rampant  in  almost 
every  branch  of  the  public  service.  A  man  could  sell  nothing 
to  the  Government  from  which  somebody  did  not  get  a  rake- 
off,  all  the  way  from  the  receiving  clerk  up — very  high  up, 
sometimes.2 

The  improvement  in  this  respect  under  the  merit 
system  is  great.  Another  result  is  the  diminution  in  the 
number  of  sinecures.  Many  of  these  still  remain  in  those 
branches  of  the  Government  (notably  in  the  service  of 
legislative  bodies)  which  have  not  been  brought  under  the 

1  Fourteenth  Report,  U.  S.  Civil  Service  Commission,  p.  14.  A  pamphlet 
published  by  the  League,  The  Business  Value  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  gives 
the  figures  in  detail. 

a  The  Business  Value  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  p.  8. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        311 

scope  of  the  system.     Many  persons  on  their  pay  rolls 
render  no  service  whatever  to  the  state. 

The  associations  keep  up  their  "campaign  of  education. " 
Young  men  are  coming  forward  to  take  the  place  of  the 
veterans.  The  outlook  is  full  of  encouragement.  "We 
deal  with  progress  and  not  flight, "  but  we  do  progress. 

There  has  been  a  marked  extension  of  the  classified 
service  so  as  to  include  the  higher  grades  of  officials  in 
the  municipal,  State  and  Federal  service.  Civil  Service 
Commissioners  set  the  example  by  including  examiners 
in  the  classified  service.  A  chief  of  police,  municipal 
experts,  librarians,  assistant  attorney  generals  and  district 
attorneys,  medical  superintendents  and  directors,  bank 
examiners  and  engineers  have  been  and  are  selected  from 
eligible  lists,  made  up  from  competitive  examinations. 
The  results  have  been  satisfactory. 

An  illustration  of  the  gradual  method  in  which  this 
extension  has  been  effected  is  to  be  found  in  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  written  when  he  was  Civil  Service  Com 
missioner,  which  I  here  transcribe: 

Commissioners 

JOHN  R.  PROCTOR,  President, 
CHARLES  LYMAN, 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

UNITED  STATES  CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSION, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

April  13,  1894. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

I  had  a  very  pleasant  interview  with  the  President  the 
other  day,  and  I  think  that  after  the  tariff  fight  is  over  he 


312       SIXTY  YEARS  OP  AMERICAN  LIFE 

will  take  up  the  question  of  extensions  of  the  Civil  Service.  I 
shall  then  urge  him  to  include  the  mint.  I  wish  that  you 
would  write  him  on  the  same  subject. 

Cordially  yours, 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

One  object  of  this  movement  has  been  to  make  the 
Civil  Service  of  the  country  an  attractive  career  for  able 
young  men.  In  this  we  have  measurably  succeeded. 

Some  steps  backward  I  must  notice.  President  Wilson 
was  for  many  years  a  supporter  of  the  merit  system  and 
was  at  one  time  a  Vice-President  of  the  National  Civil 
Service  League.  In  October,  1913,  he  signed  an  appro 
priation  bill,  which  contained  a  rider,  exempting  deputy 
collectors  and  deputy  marshals  from  the  operation  of 
the  Civil  Service  law.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the  framers 
of  the  Pendleton  Bill  to  make  its  provisions  so  broad 
that  ultimately  all  Government  employees,  excepting  the 
heads  of  departments,  should  be  included  in  it.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  offices  of  deputy  collector 
and  deputy  marshal  were  never  intended  to  be  included 
under  the  ordinary  provisions  of  the  law.  It  was  not 
expected  they  would  be  included  at  first,  but  equally,  it 
was  expected  that  as  the  system  developed  and  greater 
skill  was  acquired  in  testing  the  qualifications  of  candi 
dates  for  office,  they  would  be  included. 

This  rider  was  inserted  in  the  Senate.  The  House 
accepted  it,  and  it  became  a  law.  Similar  riders  have  been 
inserted  in  other  bills  creating  new  positions,  among 
them  the  income  tax  law.  This  was  certainly  a  violation 
of  the  pledge  in  the  Democratic  national  platform  of  1912, 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM,  1880-1916        313 

that  "the  law  pertaining  to  the  Civil  Service  should  be 
honestly  and  rigidly  enforced." 

The  Civil  Service  Reform  associations  have  done  much 
to  make  democracy  efficient.  They  show  the  power  of 
voluntary  non-partisan  associations  to  mold  public  opin 
ion,  promote  wise  legislation,  and  secure  enforcement 
of  the  law.  Such  associations  are  a  part  of  that  non- 
official  government  which  I  described  in  1900.'  This 
review  may  serve  to  correct  the  foolish  and  lazy  notion 
that  government  is  omniscient  and  omnipotent,  and  that 
party  rule  is  essential  to  its  efficient  administration. 

Let  me  finish  this  chapter  by  reference  to  three  beloved 
friends  who  were  Civil  Service  reformers  from  the  begin 
ning  :  George  William  Curtis,  Carl  Schurz  and  E.  Randolph 
Robinson.  They  have  closed  their  good  work  in  this 
world  and  have  passed  into  the  next,  leaving  a  vacancy  in 
the  hearts  of  them  that  loved  them  that  cannot  be  filled. 

When  I  remember  them,  those  friends  of  mine, 
>_  Who  are  no  longer  here,  the  noble  three, 
Who  half  my  life  were  more  than  friends  to  me, 
And  whose  discourse  was  like  a  generous  wine, 

I  most  of  all  remember  the  divine 

Something  that  shone  in  them,  and  made  us  see 
The  archetypal  man,  and  what  might  be 
The  amplitude  of  Nature's  first  design. 

In  vain  I  stretch  my  hands  to  clasp  their  hands; 
I  cannot  find  them.     Nothing  now  is  left 
But  a  majestic  memory.     They  meanwhile 

Wander  together  in  Elysian  lands, 

Perchance  remembering  me,  who  am  bereft 
Of  their  dear  presence,  and,  remembering,  smile. 

*  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  1900,  p.  370. 


CHAPTER  XII 

NEW   YORK    CITY   POLITICS,    1854-1894 
» 

Aggressive  fighting  for  the  right  is  the  noblest  sport  the 
world  knows. — Theodore  Roosevelt. 

TAMMANY  HALL  is  perhaps  the  oldest  political  organi 
zation  in  the  United  States.  Formed  about  the  year 
1789,  when  there  were  but  thirteen  States  in  the  Union,  it 
was  at  first  a  quasi-benevolent  society.  It  has  always 
claimed  to  be  a  patriotic  society.  Its  alternate  name  is 
the  Columbian  Order.  It  celebrates  the  Fourth  of  July 
with  festivities  and  speeches.  It  maintains  some  verbal 
intimation,  in  the  Indian  titles  of  the  officers,  that  it  is 
indigenous  to  the  soil.  Its  President  is  Grand  Sachem, 
its  governing  body  is  composed  of  sachems,  one  of 
the  officers  is  Wiskinkie. 

The  inscription  on  the  corner-stone  of  the  old  Tam 
many  Hall  on  the  corner  of  Park  Row  and  Frankfort 
Street  is  preserved  in  the  Tammany  Building  on  Four 
teenth  Street,  which  has  been  the  center  of  the  society's 
activity  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  reads  as  follows: 
"Tammany  Hall  or  Columbian  Order.  Founded  by 
William  Mooney  in  1786.  Organized  under  a  Constitu 
tion  and  Laws  in  1789.  William  Mooney  1st  Grand 
Sachem.  New  York,  May  12,  1789. " 

314 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     315 

In  1799  it  became  an  active  political  organization  on  the 
Democratic  side,  and  such  it  has  continued  ever  since. 
It  won  its  first  political  victory  in  the  spring  election  of 
1800.  Its  original  benevolent  purpose  has  been  main 
tained  by  providing  in  one  way  or  another  for  its  political 
adherents.  If  a  good  Tammany  man  is  out  of  work,  or  is 
threatened  with  eviction  for  the  non-payment  of  rent,  or 
is  in  any  other  difficulty,  an  endeavor  is  made  to  help 
him.  Even  under  the  merit  system  there  are  sundry 
public  jobs  that  are  within  the  control  of  the  party 
in  power.  But  in  the  old  days  of  the  spoils  system 
one  of  the  readiest  means  of  help  was  by  the  distri 
bution  of  public  office.  This  means  was  employed  to 
the  uttermost,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  public 
service. x 

Before  the  year  1854  tne  voters  of  New  York  City 
were  pretty  equally  divided  between  the  Whig  and  Demo 
cratic  parties.  In  1844  and  1845  the  city  was  carried  by 
the  Native  American  party,  which  was  organized  to  over 
come  what  wasthought  to  be  undue  Irish  influence.  When 
the  Republican  party  came  into  being  in  1854,  most  of  the 
Whigs  became  Democrats,  and  the  Democratic  party  has 
held  the  majority  ever  since.  In  1855,  when  Fernando 
Wood  was  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  the  police 
force  was  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  Mayor.  By  the 
act  of  1849  he  was  made  the  head  of  the  Police  Depart 
ment.  This  force  was  ill  disciplined  and  ill  regulated. 
To  quote  Daniel  MacLeod,  who  wrote  a  sketch  of  Wood 
in  1855: 

1  Plunkitt  of  Tammany  Hall,  Riordan,  pp.  135,  167. 


316       SIXTY.  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

He  (Wood)  found  the  streets  of  this  great  metropolis  ill 
paved,  broken  by  carts  and  omnibuses  into  ruts  and  perilous 
gullies,  obstructed  by  boxes  and  signboards,  impassable  by 
reason  of  thronging  vehicles  and  filled  with  filth  and  garbage 
which  was  left  where  it  had  been  thrown,  to  rot  and  send 
out  its  pestiferous  fumes,  breathing  fever,  cholera  and  a  host 
of  diseases  all  over  the  city.  He  found  hacks,  carts  and  omni 
buses  choking  the  thoroughfares,  the  Jehu  drivers  dashing 
through  the  crowds  furiously,  reckless  of  life;  women  and 
children  werejoiocked  down,  trampled  on,  and  the  ruffians 
drove  on  uncaught.  Hackmen  overcharged  and  were  insolent 
to  their  passengers;  baggage-smashers  haunted  the  docks, 
tearing  one's  baggage  about,  stealing  it  sometimes,  and  de 
manding  from  timid  women  and  strange  men  unnumbered 
fees  for  doing  mischief  or  for  doing  nothing  at  all;  emigrant 
runners,  half  bulldog  and  half  leech,  burst  in  crowds  upon  the 
docks  of  arriving  ships,  carried  off  the  poor  foreign  people, 
fleeced  them  and  set  them  adrift  upon  the  town;  rowdyism 
seemed  to  rule  the  city ;  it  was  at  the  risk  of  your  life  that  you 
walked  the  streets  late  at  night;  the  club,  the  knife,  the  slung- 
shot  and  revolver  were  in  constant  activity;  the  Sunday  low 
dramshop  polluted  the  Sabbath  air,  disturbed  the  sacred  still 
ness,  and  in  the  afternoon  and  night  sent  forth  its  crowds  of 
wretches  infuriate  with  bad  liquor  to  howl  and  blaspheme,  to 
fight  or  lie  prone  on  the  sidewalk  or  in  the  gutters. 

Not  only  was  the  police  inefficient,  but  it  was  used 
largely  for  political  purposes.  In  1857,  a  Republican 
Legislature  created  a  Metropolitan  Police  District, 
which  embraced  the  counties  of  New  York,  Kings,  Rich 
mond  and  Westchester.  Five  Commissioners  were  ap 
pointed  by  the  Governor.  Mr.  Wood  was  advised  that 
this  act  violated  Section  2,  Article  10,  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  had  been  adopted  in 
1846,  and  which  required  that  all  city  officers  whose 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     317 

election  or  appointment  was  not  provided  for  by  the 
Constitution  should  be  elected  by  the  electors  of  such  city 
or  appointed  by  the  authorities  thereof.  He  maintained 
that  a  Police  Commissioner  under  the  new  law  had  the 
same  power  as  that  which  the  Mayor  of  New  York  had 
exercised  for  many  years,  and  that  therefore  these  Com 
missioners  could  not  be  lawfully  appointed  by  the  Gover 
nor.  The  Supreme  Court  held  the  act  to  be  valid. 
Wood  appealed.  This  appeal  was  argued  by  Charles 
O'Conor  and  John  W.  Edmonds  for  Wood,  and  by 
William  M.  Evarts  and  Francis  B.  Cutting  for  the  new 
police.  The  Court  of  Appeals1  overruled  Wood's  conten 
tion  and  sustained  the  act.  Wood,  who  up  to  that  time 
had  maintained  by  force  control  of  the  City  Hall  and  the 
police  stations,  surrendered.  The  new  Commissioners  took 
office  and  for  a  time  directed  the  affairs  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police  District.  Later,  however,  it  was  found  more  con 
venient  to  limit  the  district.  The  act  of  April  5,  1870, 2 
took  Brooklyn  out  of  it.  The  Tweed  charter  of  that  year 
limited  the  district  to  New  York  City,  which  then  in 
cluded  only  Manhattan  Island.  The  number  of  the  Com 
missioners  was  reduced  to  four,  who  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Mayor,  and  the  Board  was  to  be  bi-partisan.  The 
same  mischievous  system  had  also  been  adopted  for  the 
government  of  New  York  County.  The  act  of  1857  re 
quired  that  two  members  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors, 
which  was  then  the  governing  body  of  New  York  County, 
should  be  elected  each  year,  but  that  no  voter  should 

1  People  ex.  rel.  Wood  v.  Draper,  15  N.  Y.,  532. 
3  Laws  of  1870,  ch.  136,  vol.  i.,  p.  360. 


3i8       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

vote  for  more  than  one.  This  divided  the  number  equally 
between  the  Republicans  and  the  Democrats,  and  gave  the 
appointment  of  the  Board  really  to  the  political  conven 
tions  instead  of  giving  it  to  the  voters.  This  resulted 
probably  in  the  most  corrupt  board  of  officials  that  ever 
dominated  the  city  of  New  York. 

To  use  the  language  of  Judge  Allen  in  his  opinion  in 
the  Ingersoll  case: 

As  a  reform  in  government  the  project  was  doubtless  a  fail 
ure;  but  as  a  means  by  which  the  individual  members  of  the 
two  parties  were  enabled  to  combine,  and  enjoy  the  luxuries  of 
power,  patronage  and  plunder,  it  has  proved  a  perfect  success. r 

William  M.  Tweed  became  a  Supervisor  in  1856.  He 
made  alliances  with  other  politicians  as  corrupt  as  himself. 
One  of  these,  Peter  B.  Sweeney,  was  originally  a  clerk  in  a 
lawyer's  office.  Richard  B.  Connolly  came  from  Ireland 
when  a  boy,  was  elected  County  Clerk,  and  afterwards 
State  Senator.  These  men  were  all  sachems  and  leaders 
of  Tammany  Hall.  They  and  their  confederates  were 
known  as  the  Ring. 

At  that  time  the  money  to  be  raised  by  taxation  was 
determined  by  an  act  which  passed  the  Legislature 
annually  and  was  known  as  the  tax  levy.  The  Republican 
majority  had  deprived  the  city  of  New  York  of  most  of 
the  powers  of  local  self-government.  But  "there  is  no 
politics  in  politics, "  and  Tweed  and  his  associates  managed 
to  get  the  tax  levies  framed  to  suit  themselves  and  put 
money  in  their  own  pockets  and  those  of  their  friends. 

1  People  v.  Ingersol!,  58  N.  Y.,  124.  The  reader  will  observe  the  allitera 
tion,  "power,  patronage  and  plunder." 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894-    319 

The  Supervisors  in  1864  adopted  a  resolution  that  a 
county  courthouse  should  be  built.  The  building  pro 
ceeded  under  their  direction  until  the  act  of  April  26, 
1870, x  put  the  business  in  the  hands  of  four  Commissioners, 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  and  authorized  them  to 
raise  $600,000  by  the  issue  of  county  stock  for  its  comple 
tion.  Commissioners  were  accordingly  appointed  and  went 
on  with  the  work.  In  1871,  power  to  raise  $750,000  more 
for  this  purpose  was  granted  by  the  Legislature.2  Ac 
cording  to  Tweed's  subsequent  statement,  he  collected 
$112,000,  which  was  paid  to  members  of  the  Legislature 
in  order  to  obtain  this  last  appropriation. 

In  1870,  the  Board  of  Supervisors  was  abolished,  but 
a  Board  of  Audit  was  created  to  audit  claims  against 
the  city.3  This  Board,  composed  of  the  Mayor,  A. 
Oakey  Hall;  Tweed,  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Super 
visors;  and  Connolly,  the  Comptroller,  allowed  at  one 
meeting  claims  against  the  city  amounting  to  $6,31 2,000. 4 
City  stock  was  issued  to  pay  these  claims.  It  subse 
quently  appeared  that  there  was  not  actually  due  more 
than  ten  per  cent,  of  this  amount.  Of  the  profits  Tweed 
received  twenty-four  per  cent.,  and  the  other  members  of 
the  combination  their  agreed  percentages.  Undoubtedly 
they  formed  an  important  part  of  the  political  campaign 
chest. 

Some  of  the  legislation  at  this  time  obtained  by  the  Ring 

1  Laws  of  1870,  ch.  382,  vol.  i.f  p.  880. 
a  Laws  of  1871,  ch.  583,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1273. 
3  Laws  of  1870,  ch.  190,  vol.  i.,  p.  481,  and  ch.  382,  Section  4. 
^  The  form  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  them,  May  5,  1870,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  report  of  People  v .  Ingersoll,  58  N.  Y.,  4. 


320       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

was  plausible '.  enough.  The  act  of  April  19,  1871, r 
abolished  the  iniquitous  system  by  which  the  annual 
tax  levy  was  to  be  passed  by  the  Legislature  and  created 
what  was  in  fact  a  Financial  Senate,  which  was  called 
the  Board  of  Apportionment.  This  was  to  have  juris 
diction  over  the  annual  city  budget.  This  law  made  all 
the  members  of  the  Board,  except  the  Mayor  himself, 
appointees  of  the  Mayor  and  thus  put  the  whole  budget 
in  his  hands.  The  Board  was  authorized  to  raise  money 
for  the  expenses  of  the  city  and  county  to  an  amount  not 
exceeding  two  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  taxable 
property  on  the  assessment  roll  of  the  city  and  county, 
and,  if  the  members  all  agreed,  were  to  apportion  the 
proceeds  of  this  tax,  after  paying  the  interest  on  the  city 
debt  and  providing  for  the  sinking  fund,  "as  it  thought 
proper  among  the  various  Departments  and  purposes  of 
the  city  and  county  government.'* 

At  that  time  the  character  of  the  men  who  were  really 
governing  the  city  was  not  known  to  the  public.  Many 
citizens  had  confidence  in  Mr.  Tweed  and  his  associates, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  subscribe  for  the  erection  of  a  statue 
to  him.  They  did  not  shrink  from  giving  to  Hall,  Tweed, 
Connolly  and  Sweeney  the  control  of  the  budget. 

In  many  respects  Tweed  was  a  man  of  broad  intelli 
gence.  It  is  due  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  man, 
that  the  change  was  made  in  the  map  of  New  York  City 
west  and  northwest  of  Central  Park,  and  that  the  new 
avenues  laid  out  in  that  part  of  the  city  conformed  better 
to  the  natural  formation  of  the  ground  than  did  the 

1  Laws  of  1871,  ch.  583,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1269. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     321 

rectangular  arrangement  under  the  act  of  1807.  Pro 
vision  was  also  made  for  parks  along  the  west  side  of  the 
city. 

In  the  midst  of  these  great  public  improvements,  which 
Tweed  planned  and  which  were  carried  out  at  a  later  date, 
it  is  surprising  how  little  attention  he  paid  to  the  improve 
ment  of  the  condition  of  the  poor  people  in  the  city.  He 
was  himself  of  humble  origin.  But  when  he  became  a 
rich  and  powerful  politician,  while  he  was  ready  to  obtain 
support  from  the  populace  by  bribes  more  or  less  disguised, 
he  made  no  attempt  to  improve  the  unsanitary  tenement 
houses  and  dirty  alleys  in  which  many  of  them  lived. 

The  Citizens  Association  of  New  York  was  organized 
about  the  year  1863,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  take 
active  steps  in  relation  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  our 
city.  The  names  of  this  committee  are  Hamilton  Fish, 
John  David  Wolfe,  Edward  S.  Jaffray,  John  Jacob  Astor, 
Jr.,  James  M.  Brown,  Jonathan  Sturges,  Robert  B. 
Roosevelt,  August  Belmont,  Charles  O'Conor,  Nathaniel 
Sands,  Charles  A.  Secor  and  Morris  Ketchum. 

They  were  our  richest  and  most  public-spirited  citizens. 
O'Conor  was  the  leader  of  the  Bar;  the  others  were  mer 
chants  and  business  men.  They  addressed  a  letter  to 
twenty-four  leading  physicians  of  the  city,  asking  their 
advice  in  regard  to  the  improvement  of  sanitary  conditions. 
Among  them  were  memorable  names:  Valentine  Mott, 
Willard  Parker,  Edward  Delafield,  E.  R.  Peaslee, 
Austin  Flint  and  B.  Fordyce  Barker.  They  reported 
that  the  ratio  of  deaths  to  the  population  of  New  York 
City  was  one  in  thirty-five;  in  Philadelphia  the  ratio  was 


322        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

one  in  forty-three,  and  in  Boston  one  in  forty-one;  and 
that  the  mortality  in  New  York  was  steadily  increasing. 
The  rate  in  1810  had  been  one  in  forty-six.  The  re 
port  presented  by  the  Council  of  the  Citizens  Association 
in  January,  1865,  contained  the  following  illuminating 
statement : 

The  mobs  that  held  fearful  sway  in  our  city  during  the 
memorable  outbreak  of  violence  in  the  month  of  July,  1863, 
were  gathered  in  the  overcrowded  and  neglected  quarters  of 
the  city.  As  was  stated  by  a  leading  journalist  at  that  time : 

"The  high  brick  blocks  and  closely-packed  houses  where 
the  mobs  originated  seemed  to  be  literally  hives  of  sickness 
and  vice.  It  was  wonderful  to  see  and  difficult  to  believe  that 
so  much  misery,  disease  and  wretchedness  can  be  huddled 
together  and  hidden  by  high  walls,  unvisited  and  unthought 
of,  so  near  our  own  abodes." 

The  excessive  concentration  and  overcrowding  of  the  poor 
and  dependent  classes  in  particular  districts,  and  upon  very 
limited  areas  of  the  city;  the  utter  disregard  of  ventilation,  and 
of  the  most  essential  conditions  for  promoting  domestic  com 
fort  and  health  in  the  plans  of  tenant-house  construction; 
and — what  perhaps  is  the  most  essential,  and  most  easily 
remedied  of  the  sanitary  wants  of  tenant-houses  and  their 
occupants — the  absence  of  cleanliness  and  sanitary  care  of 
those  houses,  and  the  streets,  courts  and  alleys  about  them,  are 
evils  that  demand  public  attention.  These  evils  must  be 
remedied,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  they  should  be  prevented 
by  faithfully  executed  sanitary  regulations. 

The  report  of  the  Council  was  adopted  by  the  Associ 
ation,  January  16,  1865.  It  contained  maps  showing 
the  shameful  condition  of  many  portions  of  the  city. 
At  this  time  its  tenement  houses,  in  construction  and 
management,  were  subject  to  no  regulation  whatever. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     323 

Little  provision  was  made  for  the  removal  of  dirt  and 
refuse.  There  were  no  water-closets  in  the  tenement- 
house  district.  Most  of  the  houses  were  provided  only 
with  privies  in  the  back  yards.  Slaughter  houses  existed 
in  various  parts  of  the  city,  all  of  which,  the  report  says 
(p.  225),  "are  very  offensive  and  they  are  exceedingly 
filthy."  Any  person  inclined  to  be  discouraged  in  regard 
to  the  conditions  of  society  in  New  York  to-day  would 
do  well  to  read  this  report  and  to  observe  the  incalculable 
progress  that  the  city  has  made  since  the  year  1865. 
Much  remains  to  be  done,  but  the  statement  often  made 
that  nothing  will  cure  existing  evils  but  a  social  revolu 
tion,  is  shown  by  this  comparison  to  be  unjust. 

During  the  dominance  of  Tweed  and  his  associates, 
there  was  no  improvement  in  these  shameful  condi 
tions.  A  thorough  investigation  made  by  The  World, 
and  published  in  its  issue  of  May  28,  1873,  showed  that  the 
city  and  its  tenements  were  as  crowded  and  dirty  as  ever. 
It  was  the  work  of  the  reformers  to  cleanse  these  Augean 
stables. 

The  leaders  of  the  Ring  had  made  an  alliance  with  three 
corrupt  judges  of  the  State  courts.  Two  of  these  judges 
were  afterwards  impeached  and  removed  from  office,  and 
one  of  them  resigned;  but  while  they  had  power  they 
exercised  it  without  scruple,  appointed  receivers,  issued 
injunctions  and  cooperated  with  Tweed  and  his  associ 
ates  in  schemes  of  public  and  private  plunder. 

The  conditions  that  I  have  briefly  described  could  not 
endure.  The  indignation  of  the  Bar  was  aroused.  James 
C.  Carter,  Albert  Matthews  and  my  classmate,  Edmund 


324       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Randolph  Robinson,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  call  a 
meeting  of  those  who  subscribed  a  call  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  an  Association  of  the  Bar.  This  meeting  was  held 
at  Delmonico's  in  the  winter  of  1869.  William  M.  Evarts, 
William  Allen  Butler  and  John  K.  Porter,  who  were 
among  the  first  subscribers,  addressed  the  meeting  and  we 
voted  to  form  a  Bar  Association.  The  Legislature  of 
1870,  which  was  thoroughly  under  the  influence  of  Tweed, 
refused  us  a  charter,  but  the  Legislature  of  1871  passed 
an  act  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  April,  which  provided : 

Section  I.  The  members  of  the  Bar  Association  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  of  which  William  M.  Evarts  is  President,  James 
W.  Gerard,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Joseph  S.  Bosworth,  John 
Slosson  and  Edgar  S.  Van  Winkle,  are  Vice-Presidents,  and 
all  persons  who  shall  hereafter  be  associated  with  them,  are 
hereby  created  a  body  corporate,  under  the  name  of  "The 
Association  of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York,"  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  profession 
of  the  law,  of  cultivating  social  relations  among  its  members 
and  increasing  its  usefulness  in  promoting  the  due  administra 
tion  of  justice. 

It  would  have  been  inexpedient  to  express  more  dis 
tinctly  in  the  act  what  was  really  the  principal  object 
of  the  formation  of  this  Bar  Association.  But  we  all  felt, 
as  O' Conor  said  to  some  of  us  in  the  lobby  of  the  old  Con 
gress  Hall  on  the  hill  at  'Albany  'where  the  State  House 
now  stands,  "You  must  kill  them,  or  they  will  kill  you. " 

It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  that  I,  although  one  of 
the  junior  members  of  the  Bar,  was  one  of  the  first  to  sign 
the  call  for  organization.  I  owe  this  undoubtedly  in  large 
part  to  my  father,  who  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Bar 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     325 

and  a  public-spirited  citizen.  Beside  the  names  already 
given,  A.  J.  Vanderpool,  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  F.  N.  Bangs, 
Luther  R.  Marsh,  Charles  F.  Southmayd,  F.  R.  Coudert 
and  E.  W.  Stoughton  were  among  the  signers.  These  all 
have  passed  to  their  reward.  Among  the  few  founders 
who  remain  are  Joseph  H.  Choate,  William  G.  Choate, 
Julien  T.  Davies  and  myself. 

After  we  had  organized  and  acquired  a  local  habi 
tation  in  West  Twenty-seventh  Street,  we  initiated 
proceedings  for  the  impeachment  of  the  two  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  to  whom  I  have  referred  and  for  the 
removal  by  the  Senate  of  John  H.  McCunn  of  the  Superior 
Court.  This  was  the  method  which  the  Constitution  of 
the  State  at  that  time  provided  for  the  removal  of  justices 
of  the  latter  court.  Upon  our  application,  committees 
were  appointed  to  take  testimony.  The  Assembly  voted 
to  impeach  two  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
Senate  sat  as  a  Court  of  Impeachment.  George  G.  Bar 
nard  was  convicted  and  removed  from  office  and  declared 
to  be  disqualified  to  hold  or  enjoy  any  office  of  honor, 
trust  or  profit  under  this  State.  His  associate  resigned. 
McCunn  was  removed  after  a  similar  trial,  which  did  not 
differ  from  the  trial  of  impeachment  in  point  of  formality 
or  in  according  opportunity  to  the  accused  to  be  heard. 
Thus  this  infamous  judicial  ring  was  broken  up 

Our  system  of  popular  elections,  which  in  districts 
where  a  political  party  has  a  large  majority  is  really  not 
a  popular  election  at  all,  but  a  nomination  by  a  political 
convention,  has  given  us  some  very  incompetent  judges. 
But  I  am  persuaded  that  since  this  great  example  was 


326       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

made  at  the  instance  of  the  Bar  Association  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  no  corrupt  judges  have  disgraced  our  Bench. 
While  this  attack  upon  one  branch  of  the  New  York 
administration  was  being  led  by  lawyers,  another  attack 
against  the  civilian  side  was  organized  and  carried  to  a 
successful  issue.  Tweed's  crimes  and  those  of  his  associ 
ates  were  brought  to  light  in  two  ways.  A  quarrel 
developed  among  the  partners.  James  O'Brien,  who  was 
Sheriff,  was  not  satisfied  with  the  share  of  the  plunder 
which  he  was  receiving.  He  made  up  a  claim  against  the 
city  for  $350,000,  which  he  afterwards  offered  to  sell  to 
Tweed  for  that  amount.  Tweed  refused.  He  felt  that 
O'Brien's  support  would  cost  him  too  dear.  O'Brien 
thereupon  began,  through  a  man  named  William  Copeland 
who  was  one  of  his  followers,  and  for  whom  he  had  secured 
an  appointment  in  the  Comptroller's  office,  to  furnish 
information  of  the  misdeeds  of  the  partners,  whom  he 
considered  too  greedy.  Mr.  Jones,  who  was  the  proprie 
tor  of  the  New  York  Times,  obtained  from  the  office 
of  the  Comptroller  (not  only  through  Copeland,  but 
through  Matthew  J.  O'Rourke,  who  was  a  clerk  in  that 
office  and  had  himself  become  convinced  of  the  fraudulent 
character  of  the  claims  which  were  being  paid), without  the 
knowledge  of  the  associates,  statements  of  accounts  which 
showed  that  the  bills  which  were  being  paid  by  the  city  for 
the  new  courthouse  and  for  other  purposes  were  not  honest 
bills.  These  bills  were  made  up  on  the  same  principle 
as  those  of  the  unjust  steward  in  the  parable :  the  plaster 
ers,  the  painters,  the  masons,  the  plumbers — in  short, 
all  the  parties  who  were  engaged  in  furnishing  labor  or 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     327 

material  to  the  courthouse — were  told  to  take  their  bills 
and  sit  down  quickly  and  write  six  or  eight  or  ten  times 
their  actual  amount.  The  contractors,  who  found  that 
they  could  not  get  paid  unless  they  joined  in  this  fraudulent 
proceeding,  got  their  money,  and  the  balance  went  to 
the  conspirators.  If  these  rascals  had  been  content 
with  a  smaller  amount  of  plunder,  they  might  never  have 
been  discovered.  But  the  evil  of  such  combinations  is 
intrinsic.  Necessarily,  many  become  aware  of  the  scheme. 
Each  partner  feels  that  a  large  part  of  the  credit  belongs 
to  himself,  and  clamors  for  a  larger  share.  Political 
leaders  who  rely  upon  a  corrupt  following  for  their  support 
are  called  upon  to  do  more  and  more  for  their  henchmen. 
And  in  the  end,  the  system  breaks  down,  as  this  did,  from 
its  own  weight.  Many  threats  were  made  against  Mr. 
Jones;  all  sorts  of  promises  were  made  to  induce  him  to 
cease  the  attack ;  but  he  went  on  bravely  with  his  exposure. 
Even  after  the  facts  had  been  made  manifest,  Tweed 
was  defiant.  He  ran  again  for  the  State  Senate,  and 
carried  his  own  district. 

The  exposures  in  the  Times  aroused  public  indignation. 
A  committee  of  eight  citizens  was  appointed,  who  made 
a  thorough  examination  of  the  books  and  accounts  in 
the  Comptroller's  office.  They  found  that  the  graft  in 
the  charges  for  repairs  on  armories  and  drill-rooms  was  the 
largest  in  percentage.  The  actual  cost  of  these  was  not 
over  $250,000.  The  city  had  paid  $3,200,000.  They 
found  that  the  fair  cost  of  the  building  of  the  courthouse, 
which  had  not  at  that  time  been  finished,  would  not  exceed 
three  millions,  and  that  over  eleven  millions  had  been 


328        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

charged,  and  that  the  equipment  of  this  courthouse, 
including  painting,  plumbing  and  plasterers*  bills,  had 
cost  the  city  $7,289,466.81.  Appraisers  employed  by 
the  committee  valued  the  whole  at  $624,180.40.  The 
conspirators  had  been  clever  enough  to  attempt  to  subsi 
dize  the  newspapers  of  the  city  by  paying  enormous  sums 
for  useless  advertisements.  In  less  than  three  years  the 
city  and  county  had  paid  for  printing,  advertising,  sta 
tionery,  etc.,  $7,169,212.23. 

When  the  storm  first  broke,  the  "associates  felt  them 
selves  so  firmly  intrenched  that  Tweed  cried,  "What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?  "  Charles  O' Conor  and  Wheeler 
H.  Peckham  were  the  counsel  for  the  citizens,  and  advised 
that  a  civil  suit  to  recover  the  monies  embezzled  might  be 
brought  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State.  A  suit 
was  brought,  but  the  Court  of  Appeals  held  that  it  would 
not  lie.1  Tweed  was  indicted  for  fraudulent  neglect  of 
duty  as  auditor  of  claims.  He  was  convicted  of  two 
hundred  and  four  offenses.  But  the  Court  of  Appeals 
held  that  he  could  lawfully  be  sentenced  for  one  term 
only. 2  He  served  a  term  of  one  year  and  paid  a  fine,  but 
was  in  1875  discharged  from  imprisonment  under  that 
indictment. 

Meanwhile  O' Conor  and  Peckham  had  drawn  an  act 
authorizing  a  civil  suit  to  be  brought  in  the  name  of  the 
people.3  Samuel  J.  Til  den,  who  was  elected  Governor 
in  November,  1874,  signed  the  bill  and  it  became  a  law. 

1  People  v.  Ingersoll,  58  N.  Y.,  i.  Argued  June  3,  1873,  reargued  Febru 
ary  n,  1874,  decided  June  9,  1874. 

3  People  ex  rel.  Tweed  v.  Liscomb,  60  N.  Y.  Rep.,  559. 
3  Laws  of  1875,  ch.  49. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     329 

On  the  day  when  Tweed  was  discharged  from  his  imprison 
ment,  he  was  arrested  in  a  suit  brought  under  the  new 
act.  His  bail  was  fixed  in  this  suit  at  three  million  dollars, 
in  default  of  which  he  was  committed  to  Ludlow  Street 
jail.  Tweed's  counsel  claimed  that  this  was  vexatious, 
and  therefore  illegal.  But  the  Court  of  Appeals  affirmed 
the  order1  November  16,  1875,  and  he  remained  for  a  time 
in  jail. 

But  he  had  not  lost  all  his  friends.  Many  of  his  old 
chums  were  in  the  Sheriff's  office.  They  allowed  him 
many  privileges,  notwithstanding  his  commitment.  He 
claimed  that  it  would  be  for  the  benefit  of  his  health  that 
he  should  be  allowed  occasionally  to  drive  in  Central 
Park.  This  leave  he  obtained.  A  friendly  deputy 
sheriff  granted  him  permission  to  visit  Mrs.  Tweed,  who 
was  living  in  the  house  that  Tweed  had  built,  which 
remained  standing  in  Fifth  Avenue  just  below  Forty- 
third  Street  until  1916.  Tweed  asked  the  deputy  to  allow 
him  to  go  upstairs  for  a  few  moments.  He  left  the  deputy 
in  the  parlor  and  disappeared.  He  took  passage  in  a 
vessel  bound  for  Spain.  The  extradition  treaty  between 
this  country  and  Spain  did  not  provide  for  the  return  of  a 
criminal  indicted  for  the  offenses  for  which  Tweed  had 
been  indicted.  The  clever  stratagem  failed.  At  the 
instance  of  Governor  Tilden,  the  United  States  Sec 
retary  of  State  asked  the  government  of  Spain  to 
return  Tweed.  A  United  States  frigate  was  sent  for 
him,  he  was  brought  back  again  to  jail  and  there  he 
died  on  the  twelfth  of  April,  1878. 

1  People  v.  Tweed,  63  N.  Y.,  202. 


330        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Meanwhile  the  various  civil  suits  which  had  been 
brought  against  those  who  were  concerned  in  the  frauds 
were  compromised.  The  result  of  all  the  litigation  was 
that  about  $1,350,000  was  recovered.  Sweeney  had  fled 
to  France.  He  came  back  to  this  country  for  a  short 
time  under  a  stipulation  with  the  Attorney  General,  but 
returned  to  France  and  died  in  1911.  He  was  the  last 
survivor.  Connolly  also  fled  and  never  returned. 

The  frauds  that  had  thus  been  discovered  produced  a 
revolution  in  Tammany  Hall.  The  better  element  came 
to  the  front.  Augustus  Schell  succeeded  William  M. 
Tweed  as  Grand  Sachem;  Connolly,  Sweeney  and  Hall 
and  some  of  their  associates  were  dropped  from  their 
positions  as  sachems,  and  Charles  O' Conor,  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  John  Kelly,  Horatio  Seymour,  August  Belmont 
and  Abram  S.  Hewitt  were  elected  in  their  stead. 

In  1873,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  at  the  head  of  a  committee 
from  Tammany  Hall,  called  at  the  New  York  City  Bar 
Association  Building  and  conferred  with  a  committee 
from  that  Association  respecting  the  nominations  to  be 
made  that  year  for  judicial  office.  It  was  a  good 
precedent. 

From  1872  until  1876  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  we  had 
a  reformed  Tammany.  As  I  saw  it  then,  and  see  it 
now,  the  Tammany  organization  at  that  time  was  al 
together  the  most  honest  and  respectable  political  or 
ganization  in  the  city'of  New  York. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State 
of  New  York  in  1874,  an(^  William  H.  Wickham  was 
elected  Mayor  of  the  city  in  the  same  year.  They  both 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     331 

had  the  support  of  the  reformed  Tammany.  Tilden  had  a 
majority  of  50,317.  Wickham  had  a  plurality  over  his 
Republican  competitor  of  33,118,  and  a  clear  majority 
over  all  of  8892. 

The  great  difficulty  attendant  upon  reform  in  a  political 
party,  composed  of  various  discordant  elements,  is  the 
impossibility  of  satisfying  them  all.  The  rascals  in  the 
Democratic  party  in  New  York  City  found  the  reformed 
Tammany  very  little  to  their  liking.  John  Morrissey, 
who  was  a  professional  gambler,  and  had  profited  by 
the  indulgence  extended  to  him  by  the  Tweed  regime, 
found  the  conditions  under  Mayor  Wickham  not  at  all  to 
his  taste.  Accordingly  he  bolted.  He  had  many  friends 
and  supporters  of  his  own  kind,  and  the  good  citizens  of 
New  York  saw  a  coalition  similar  to  that  which  Randolph 
described  in  1824  as  "  a  combination  of  the  Puritan  and  the 
Blackleg.'*  John  Morrissey  and  his  bolting  Democrats 
effected  a  coalition  with  the  regular  Republican  organi 
zation.  The  Tammany  leaders  who  were  then  in  office  felt 
bound  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  defeat  this  combination. 
They  nominated  for  the  local  election  in  1875  an  excellent 
ticket. 

Unfortunately  this  ticket  was  defeated.  The  coalition 
carried  the  day.  John  Kelly  had  become  the  leader  of 
Tammany  Hall.  The  defeat  of  1875  impressed  upon  him 
that  he  must  make  to  himself  some  friends  of  the  baser 
element  and  he  did.  Dissatisfaction  with  his  leadership 
led  in  the  winter  of  1 880-81  to  the  formation  of  an  inde 
pendent  Democratic  organization,  known  as  the  County 
Democracy.  This  was  powerful  for  a  time  and  was  recog- 


332        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

nized  by  the  State  Democratic  convention.  Many  of 
Mr.  Cleveland's  supporters,  including  Hewitt,  Whitney 
and  Stetson,  were  prominent  in  it. 

In  1883,  it  united  with  Tammany  Hall  in  the  nomination 
of  William  R.  Grace  for  Mayor.  He  was  elected.  The 
son  of  an  Irish  gentleman,  he  ran  away  from  home  when  a 
boy,  worked  his  passage  across  the  Atlantic,  and  was 
finally  discovered  by  his  father  earning  his  living  in  New 
York.  He  was  placed  as  a  clerk  with  a  house  in  Liver 
pool  that  had  business  in  South  America,  and  went  to 
Peru  to  represent  the  firm  there.  His  energy  and  skill 
were  such  that  before  many  years  he  became  the  head  of 
the  New  York  house  of  William  R.  Grace  &  Company, 
in  the  South  American  trade.  When  he  became  Mayor 
he  selected  as  his  private  secretary  William  M.  Ivins,  who 
was  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  clear-sighted  young  law 
yers  in  the  city,  and  who  remained  in  active  practice 
till  his  death  in  1915.  Ivins  really  became  Deputy 
Mayor.  He  made  a  careful  study  at  first  hand  of  condi 
tions  in  tenement  houses  generally,  and  of  the  various 
pawnbrokers'  shops  and  other  resorts  which  then  were 
numerous  on  the  Bowery.  With  the  aid  of  the  Health 
Department  he  produced  important  improvements  in 
tenement  conditions.  He  broke  up  altogether  what  had 
become  a  common  practice,  the  use  of  fraudulent  pawn 
tickets.  He  discovered  one  instance  where  a  pawnbroker 
had  bought  one  thousand  Ingersoll  watches,  which  re 
tailed  at  $1.00  each.  Against  these  he  issued  pawn 
tickets  purporting  to  represent  a  loan  of  $20  on  each 
watch.  He  procured  agents  to  sell  or  pledge  these  tickets 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     333 

for  $5  apiece,  and  when  the  ticket  was  brought  in  for 
redemption,  produced  the  $i  watch.  His  license  was 
revoked,  and  many  another. 

The  business  of  using  the  selling  of  liquor  as  an  append 
age  to  disreputable  theaters  and  public  halls  was  broken 
up.  In  short,  Mayor  Grace  succeeded  in  preventing 
many  of  the  ways  in  which  illegal  and  disreputable  resorts 
attracted  custom,  but  did  not  undertake  the  vain  attempt 
to  abolish  them  altogether,  an  attempt  which  all  experi 
ence  shows  is  fruitful  of  graft  and  productive  of  no  good. 

It  was  during  his  administration  that  the  Street  Clean 
ing  Department  was  separated  from  the  Police  Depart 
ment. 

Mr.  Grace  was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  did  not  need  his 
salary.  He  caused  his  secretary  to  open  a  separate 
account  into  which  the  monthly  warrants  for  the  salary 
were  paid.  The  entire  amount  of  this  account  was 
devoted  to  relieving  the  innumerable  cases  that  apply  to 
a  Mayor  for  assistance. 

When  his  term  was  about  to  expire  in  1886,  Henry 
George,  the  leader  of  the  single  tax  movement,  was  nomi 
nated  for  the  office  of  Mayor  by  an  independent  organi 
zation. 

Many  good  people  thought  that  George's  election  would 
mean  ruin  to  the  property  interests  of  New  York.  Abram 
S.  Hewitt  was  urged  by  both  wings  of  the  Democracy  to 
accept  their  united  nomination  for  Mayor.  Hewitt  was 
a  very  useful  member  of  Congress.  It  was  an  unfortu 
nate  thing  for  the  Democratic  party  that  he  gave  up  his 
position  in  Congress  to  become  Mayor  of  the  city.  He 


334        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

was  a  man  of  absolute  integrity  and  courage,  and  unusual 
efficiency,  very  familiar  with  our  complex  tariff,  and  in 
valuable  whenever  it  came  up  for  revision. 

This  campaign  of  1886,  in  which  Hewitt  was  elected 
and  Henry  George  defeated,  was  the  last  success  of  the 
County  Democracy.  Since  that  time  there  has  been 
no  strong  independent  Democratic  organization  in  New 
York  City.  Whatever  successes  have  been  won  in 
municipal  politics  have  been  won  by  a  combination  be 
tween  independent  committees  of  citizens  and  the  Re 
publican  organization  which  has  in  the  main  given  cordial 
cooperation. 

Hewitt  became  Mayor  on  the  first  of  January,  1887. 
In  a  speech  which  he  made  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
November,  1900,  he  gave  this  account  of  the  manner  in 
which,  as  Mayor,  he  dealt  with  the  police  situation : 

Now,  when  I  became  Mayor,  I  realized  the  fact  that  the 
responsibility  was  upon  me.  The  condition  of  things  at  that 
time  in  the  city  of  New  York  was  very  bad.  I  did  not  go  to 
the  Police  Superintendent  or  to  any  captain,  but  I  simply 
walked  through  the  streets  and  observed  with  my  own  eyes, 
and  I  counted  the  disreputable  places,  so  far  as  I  could  find 
them,  that  were  open  to  the  public  view. 

The  Chief  of  Police  at  that  time  was  Murray,  a  most  intelli 
gent  and  capable  officer.  I  told  him  what  I  had  seen.  He 
said  it  was  all  true.  I  told  him  that  I  wanted  to  have  the 
dives  closed  up,  and  while  I  did  not  expect  that  vice  could  be 
suppressed  or  extirpated  in  a  great  city  like  this,  I  wanted  at 
least  that  respect  which  vice  pays  to  purity,  by  being  a  little 
more  decent.  He  said  to  me  frankly,  "All  that  you  say  is 
true."  I  said,  "Can  they  be  closed  up?"  He  said,  "Cer 
tainly;  it  is  only  necessary  to  give  the  order  to  have  them 
closed  up. "  I  said, ' '  Then  why  do  they  exist  at  all  ? "  "  Well, ' ' 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     335 

he  said,  "you  had  better  ask  some  of  your  political  friends 
about  that."  I  said,  "They  are  interested  in  these  places?" 
"Oh,  many  of  them,"  he  said.  "And  if  the  order  goes  forth 
to  close  them  up  you  will  be  attacking  the  men  who  have  been 
your  best  supporters  in  the  last  election  and  who  have  placed 
you  in  the  Mayor's  chair."  I  said,  "That  is  a  revelation; 
but  it  does  not  make  any  difference  to  me  who  they  are.  The 
places  have  got  to  be  closed  up." 

I  said  to  him,  "I  don't  ask  you  to  commit  yourself  to  any 
thing,  Murray,  but  you  are  a  rich  man?"  "Well,"  he  said, 
"I  don't  know  what  you  call  rich;  I  am  well-to-do."  I  said, 
"Won't  you  tell  me  frankly  how  much  you  are  worth?" 
Said  he,  "I  am  worth  $300,000."  I  said,  "Murray,  did  you 
ever  have  any  business  but  that  of  a  policeman  and  police 
captain?"  He  said,  "No."  I  said,  "How  did  you  get  that 
$300,000?"  "Why,"  said  he,  "I  have  friends  in  Wall  Street 
who  have  given  me  good  opportunities,  and  I  have  made 
this  money,  and  I  am  very  well  satisfied  with  the  results." 

I  said,  "How  about  the  captains?  Are  there  any  of  these 
who  have  fortunes?"  "Oh,"  he  said,  "most  of  them  are 
well-to-do.  There  are  some  poor  men  among  them ! "  I  said, 
"  How  do  they  get  their  money  ? "  "Well, "  said  he,  "  you  can 
readily  understand  that  as  long  as  this  condition  of  things  goes 
on,  opportunities  occur  to  make  money."  I  said,  "How 
about  the  ward  men  ?  I  hear  that  they  go  around  and  collect 
money."  "Well, "  said  he,  "  they  don't  collect  any  money  for 
me ;  but  I  think  it  very  likely  they  do  collect  money. "  "  Now, ' ' 
said  I,  "you  have  told  me  very  frankly  the  condition  of  things 
here.  I  don't  propose  to  take  any  advantage  of  it.  You  have 
dealt  with  entire  fairness  with  me.  All  I  ask  you  to  do  now 
is  from  this  day  to  do  your  duty."  He  said  he  would,  and  he 
did. 

I  then  sent  for  the  President  of  the  Police  Commission.  It 
was  a  bi-partisan  Board  then,  as  now.  There  were  two  Re 
publicans  and  two  Democrats,  but  the  President  of  the  Board 
was  a  Republican.  I  do  not  care  to  recall  names.  All  the 
members  of  the  Board  at  the  time,  except  one,  have  since  died. 
I  told  him  frankly  what  Murray  had  told  me,  and  I  asked  him 


336       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

whether  he  was  willing  to  cooperate  in  the  suppression  of  the 
dives  and  the  closing  up  of  these  disreputable  and  unlawful 
places  of  resort.  He  said  if  I  wished  he  would,  but  he  thought 
I  had  better  let  things  alone;  that  I  was  going  to  let  loose  a 
hornet's  nest,  and  that  if  I  had  any  political  ambition  in  the 
future  he  wanted  to  tell  me,  from  his  great  knowledge  of  politics, 
and  no  man  had  more,  that  it  would  be  my  political  ruin — that 
there  was  no  place  that  I  could  ever  be  elected  to  in  this  com 
munity.  He  also  told  me  the  truth.  Now  what  happened? 
The  police  were  managed  by  four  men,  who  divided  up  the 
patronage  into  four  parts.  Two  of  them  were  Democrats, 
two  of  them  were  Republicans,  and  each  one  had  his  portion. 
I  was  informed  that  the  Mayor,  if  he  saw  fit,  might  have  a 
portion  from  each  one  of  the  appointments.  I  declined,  of 
course,  to  accept  the  offer. 

I  can  say  to  you  that  in  sixty  days  every  dive  in  the  city 
of  New  York  was  closed  up,  and  all  the  places  which  had 
flaunted  vice  before  the  community  were  compelled  at  least 
to  put  on  the  garb  of  respectability,  and  those  of  you  who  are 
old  enough  to  remember  will  remember  that  during  the  two 
years  when  I  was  Mayor,  externally  New  York  was  a  very 
decent  city. 

I  want  to  say  to  you  that  the  great  majority  of  the  police 
force  are  honest  men.  The  number  who  are  willing  to  take 
bribes  from  gamblers  and  the  keepers  of  improper  places  of 
resort  are  few,  and  that  accounts  for  the  fact  that  these  few 
get  rich,  because  they  don't  divide  with  those  who  are  desirous 
simply  to  do  their  duty  for  the  pay  which  they  receive  from 
the  public  treasury.  Now,  I  want  to  say  distinctly  that  my 
experience  of  the  police  as  a  body  was  most  favorable.  But 
when  they  are  headed  by  a  corrupt  Superintendent  and  by  a 
corrupt  Board  of  Commissioners  there  is  no  limit  at  all  to  the 
abuses  which  may  be  perpetrated,  for  if  a  man  tries  to  do 
his  duty  he  is  promptly  transferred  to  some  place  where  there 
is  no  exercise  for  his  sense  of  right. 

Hewitt's  administration  as  Mayor  was  not  satisfactory 
to  Tammany,  for  reasons  which  this  statement  of  his 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     337 

sufficiently  shows;  neither  was  it  satisfactory  to  the 
Republican  allies  of  Tammany. 

The  result  was  that  when  in  1888  he  was  nominated  for 
reelection,  Tammany  Hall  nominated  Hugh  J.  Grant,  and 
the  Republicans  nominated  an  Independent  candidate  who 
took  votes  enough  from  Hewitt  to  elect  Grant.  Once 
more  Tammany  Hall  was  in  full  control  of  the  city  govern 
ment.  This  control  continued  until  the  end  of  the  year 
1894. 

During  Grant's  administration,  from  1889  to  1891,  and 
that  of  Thomas  F.  Gilroy,  who  succeeded  him  and  who 
continued  in  office  from  1892  to  1894,  unlawful  relations 
between  certain  members  of  the  Police  Department  and 
illegal  resorts  were  resumed.  Our  people  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  would  be  worth  while  to  try  to  nominate 
and  elect  a  Mayor  on  a  non-partisan  basis. 

Numerous  non-partisan  organizations  came  into  activ 
ity  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  city  government. 
Twenty-four  "Good  Government"  clubs  were  formed  in 
different  parts  of  the  city,  and  many  of  them  maintained 
a  club  house  for  social  and  political  purposes.  Some 
newspaper  enemies  stigmatized  them  as  "Goo  Goos, "  but 
they  did  important  educational  work.  In  1890,  the 
People's  Municipal  League  was  organized,  and  Francis 
M.  Scott,  who  has  since  become  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  a  member  of  the  Appellate  Division  of  that 
body,  made  an  effective  campaign  in  the  mayoralty  election 
for  that  year.  That  league  declared  for  its  fundamental 
principle  that  "Municipal  government  is  business  and  not 
politics." 


338        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  City  Reform  Club  had  been  organized  in  1884. 
This  had  no  club  house,  but  maintained  a  down-town 
office  and  was  a  continuing  vigilance  committee.  From 

1886  to  1893  it  published  the  "Annual  Record  of  Assem 
blymen  and  Senators  from  the  City  of  New  York."     In 

1887  it  investigated  registration  and  election  frauds  and 
brought  the  result  of  its  discoveries  to  the  attention  of  the 
Grand  Jury.     A  special  Grand  Jury  again  investigated 
the   subject  in  September,    1888,    and   returned  indict 
ments  for  bribery  against  two  leading  politicians,   one 
of  whom  was  tried.     It  is  difficult  to  get  a  conviction 
in  bribery  cases,    and    in    this  case  the  jury  failed  to 
agree.     The  exposure  of  the  frauds  was    a    terror    to 
evildoers. 

On  the  fourth  of  April,  1892,  the  City  Club  of  New 
York  was  organized,  "to  promote  social  intercourse 
among  persons  specially  interested  in  the  good  government 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  securing  honesty  and  efficiency 
in  the  administration  of  the  city  affairs,  in  severing  muni 
cipal  from  national  politics,  and  in  procuring  the  election 
of  fit  persons  to  city  offices;  and  to  take  such  action  as 
may  tend  to  the  honest,  efficient  and  independent  govern 
ment  of  the  city  of  New  York. "  August  Belmont,  James 
C.  Carter,  R.  Fulton  Cutting  and  W.  Bayard  Cutting 
(the  two  brothers  who  have  done  so  much  effective  work 
for  the  reformation  of  city  government)  and  William 
J.  Schieffelin  were  perhaps  the  most  prominent  of  its  first 
Board  of  Trustees.  Bishop  Potter  did  a  great  deal  to 
promote  the  success  of  this  reform  work  and  it  is  fitting 
that  a  portrait  of  him  should  hang  in  the  club  rooms  of 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     339 

the  house  which  the  Club  afterwards  built  at  55  West 
Forty-fourth  Street. 

In  an  introduction  which  Mr.  Godkin  wrote  for  a 
volume  called  The  Triumph  of  Reform,  which  was  pub 
lished  in  1895,  he  thus  sums  up  the  history  of  the  period 
from  1888  to  1894: 

The  methods  of  corruption  which  have  led  to  the  explosion 
to  which  we  owe  the  attempt  at  reform,  of  which  these  pages 
are  a  record,  have  differed  considerably  from  those  employed 
by  Tweed.  His  chief  mode  of  despoiling  the  treasury  was  the 
raising  of  bills  by  tradesmen  doing  city  work.  The  present 
Tammany  men  resort  to  much  more  subtle  processes — such 
as  the  enormous  multiplication  of  salaried  offices,  and  secret 
tolls  or  blackmail  levied  on  all  persons  having  business  with 
the  city,  or  exposed  to  annoyance  at  the  hands  of  the  police 
or  other  officials,  and  the  sale  of  legislation  or  of  immunity 
from  legislation,  to  corporations  or  firms.  As  usual,  the  dis 
covery  of  such  disorders  was  due  to  excess.  The  increasing 
corruption  of  the  police  made  concealment  no  longer  possible, 
and  brought  about  the  uprising  of  which  this  book  is  a  com 
memoration.  ; 

January  29, 1894,  Clarence  Lexow,  the  Senator  from  the 
Sixteenth  District,  offered  in  the  Senate  a  resolution  for 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  investigate  the  Police 
Department  in  New  York  City.  The  charges  which  led 
to  the  appointment  of  this  committee  had  been  made  by 
Dr.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  who  was  then,  as  he  still  is, 
minister  of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church  in 
New  York  City.  A  bill  was  passed  appropriating  $25,000 
for  the  expenses  of  the  investigation.  Roswell  P.  Flower, 
who  was  then  Governor,  vetoed  this  bill  on  the  ground  that 
the  investigation  was  partisan  and  that  the  money  would 


340       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

be  wasted.  Thereupon,  in  order  that  the  investigation 
might  not  fail,  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce 
advanced  $17,500,  for  the  purpose  of  covering  the  expenses 
of  the  committee. 

The  first  attack  was  made  upon  interference  by  the 
police  with  New  York  City  elections.  Many  policemen 
were  members  of  Tammany  clubs  and  took  an  active  part 
in  city  elections,  going  so  far  as  to  permit  repeaters  to 
vote  without  interference.  John  W.  GofI,  now  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  became  counsel  for  the  committee. 
He  was  assisted  by  Frank  Moss,  who  was  then^Secretary 
of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Crime,  and  William 
Travers  Jerome.  Mr.  Goff  boldly  called  as  a  witness  one 
of  the  Police  Commissioners,  John  McClave.  He  could  not 
stand  the  fire,  broke  down  completely,  resigned  his  office, 
and  left  the  city.  His  secretary  followed  his  example. 
Proof  showed  clearly  that  money  had  been  paid  for  the 
appointment  and  promotion  of  policemen,  and  that  bribes 
had  been  paid  to  police  captains,  sergeants  and  wardmen, 
as  they  were  then  called,  for  permission  to  continue  various 
illegal  trades  within  their  districts.  Four  captains  and  a 
number  of  sergeants  and  wardmen  were  tried  before  the 
Police  Commissioners  for  the  offenses  thus  disclosed. 
The  evidence  which  the  committee  had  obtained  was  given 
and  they  were  dismissed  from  the  force.  One  of  these 
captains  was  afterwards  indicted  and  convicted  of  bribery, 
was  sentenced  to  three  years  and  nine  months'  imprison 
ment  and  a  fine  of  $1000.  One  police  captain  admitted 
that  he  had  paid  $15,000  for  his  appointment  as  captain. 
This  testimony  led  to  an  attempt  by  his  superior  officers 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1854-1894     341 

to  remove  him;  but  the  committee  insisted  upon  the 
promise  of  immunity  to  witnesses  which  they  had  given 
under  the  direction  of  the  Senate,  and  the  captain  was 
restored  to  his  place.  The  evidence  was  so  clear  that  it 
produced  a  revolution  in  public  sentiment. 

A  meeting  of  citizens  without  distinction  of  party 
was  held  in  Madison  Square  Garden,  a  Committee  of 
Seventy  was  appointed,  and  it  nominated  William  L. 
Strong  for  Mayor  and  John  W.  GofI  for  Recorder. 

One  of  the  most  effective  and  terrible  circulars  which 
the  Committee  distributed  among  the  voters  was  the  story 
of  a  Russian  widow  named  Urchittel.  She  had  started  a 
little  store  in  which  she  sold  cigars  and  tobacco.  She  was 
blackmailed  by  police  detectives,  arrested,  and  taken  to 
court.  Her  trial  took  place  without  any  professional  as 
sistance  to  her,  and  without  her  being  able  to  understand 
a  word  of  the  testimony  of  the  two  perjured  witnesses 
against  her.  Her  children  were  taken  from  her  and  her 
business  destroyed.  It  was  an  evil  day  for  the  Tammany 
Hall  Democracy  when  it  tolerated  such  crimes  as  these. 

The  following  extract  from  the  testimony  of  a  merchant 
who  had  been  blackmailed  by  the  wardmen  is  illumi 
nating: 

Q.  Did  any  of  the  ward  men  who  collected  your  sidewalk 
rent  tell  you  how  the  money  was  divided  ? 

A.     There  was  something  said  on  that  subject  once. 

Q.     Please  tell  the  Committee  about  that  conversation. 

A.  Once  when  I  paid  a  ward  man  six  months'  rent  I  said 
to  him :  "You  must  be  getting  pretty  rich  if  all  my  neighbors 
pay  as  I  do."  He  said:  "Oh,  my,  I  don't  get  any  of  this.  I 
hand  this  to  the  captain."  "Well,"  said  I,  "then  the  captain 


342        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

must  be  getting  pretty  rich."  He  said:  "No,  the  captain 
gets  none  of  this,  or,  anyway,  only  his  percentage.  It  goes 
higher."  "The  inspector  then?"  said  I.  "No,"  said  he, 
"higher* 

"What ! "  said  I.  "Higher  brings  it  to  the  Superintendent." 
"No,  "said  he,  ''higher.'1 

Then  said  I:  "Why,  that  takes  us  to  the  Commissioners." 
"No,  "said  he,  "higher." 

Then  said  I:  "There's  nothing  but  the  Grand  Boss  of  all." 

Then  he  said :     "You  are  getting  hot  now." 

The  result  of  our  campaign  was  the  election  of  Mayor 
Strong  by  a  majority  of  45,187  and  of  Mr.  Goff  by  a  like 
majority. 

This  Committee  of  Seventy  was  carefully  selected  from 
among  our  most  intelligent  and  public  spirited  citizens. 
Joseph  Larocque  was  Chairman.  All  took  an  active  part 
in  the  campaign.  The  Executive  Committee  was  com 
posed  as  follows: 

James  P.  Archibald,  Charles  C.  Beaman,  A.  C.  Bern- 
heim,  John  Crosby  Brown,  L.  J.  Callanan,  John  Claflin, 
Lewis  L.  Delafield,  John  P.  Faure,  R.  M.  Gallaway, 
William  B.  Hornblower,  W.  Travers  Jerome,  Joseph 
Larocque,  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Peter  B.  Olney,  Horace 
Porter,  W.  Harris  Roome,  George  L.  Rives,  Gustav  H. 
Schwab,  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Charles  S.  Smith,  James  Speyer, 
Simon  Sterne,  John  A.  Stewart,  William  L.  Strong, 
Frederic  Taylor,  J.  Kennedy  Tod,  John  P.  Townsend, 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt  and  Everett  P.  Wheeler.  Mer 
chants,  bankers,  labor  leaders,  lawyers  and  capitalists 
combined  in  one  united  effort  to  liberate  the  Empire  City 
from  bondage.  We  succeeded. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-190! 

UNLIKE  many  political  organizations,  the  Committee 
of  Seventy  and  the  Mayor  whom  they  elected  set  to 
work  to  fulfil  the  promises  of  the  platform.  The  promise 
that  all  examinations  should  be  placed  under  the  control 
of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  was  carried  out  as  far  as 
the  State  Legislature  would  allow.  Examiners  became 
independent  of  the  departments  and  were  instructed  to 
conduct  examinations  with  especial  reference  to  the 
qualifications  required  for  the  place  for  which  the  examin 
ation  was  held.  To  ascertain  these  qualifications  they 
were  to  confer  with  the  heads  of  departments  so  that  all 
the  requirements  of  the  service  might  be  met.  Pains  were 
taken  to  give  the  general  public  notice  of  vacancies  and 
of  all  proposed  examinations,  with  the  result  of  a  greatly 
increased  number  of  applicants  and  consequent  increased 
scope  of  selection. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  acted  in  entire  harmony 
with  the  Mayor,  and  endeavored  to  prevent  as  far  as 
possible  any  removals  for  partisan  reasons.  There  were 
many  unfit  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  city  government 
when  Mayor  Strong  took  office,  but  there  were  many  fit 
and  competent  persons  who  had  served  under  previous 

343 


344       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

administrations.  The  public  business  could  not  have 
been  transacted  without  the  aid  of  such  men,  and 
it  would  have  been  the  height  of  injustice  to  remove 
them. 

The  Legislature  was  not  altogether  in  sympathy  with 
the  reform  administration.  We  unearthed  a  confiden 
tial  circular  from  Senator  Platt  to  Republican  editors 
throughout  the  State,  in  which  he  discredited  our  motives 
and  our  plans  and  urged  his  lieutenants,  by  editorials 
from  time  to  time,  to  oppose  the  bills  we  recommended. 
This  opposition  in  many  cases  succeeded. 

The  Committee  of  Seventy  platform  pledged  us  to 
endeavor  to  abolish  the  bi-partisan,  double-headed  Board 
of  Police.  This  the  Legislature  refused  to  do. 

The  second  pledge  of  our  platform  was  "that  the  quality 
of  the  public  schools  be  improved. "  The  Board  of  Edu 
cation  took  measures  to  carry  out  this  pledge.  Fourteen 
new  schoolhouses,  accommodating  17,041  pupils,  were 
finished  during  the  year  1895.  The  provisional  estimate 
for  the  new  year  allowed  $680,000  more  for  teachers' 
salaries  and  the  current  expenses  of  the  schools  than  the 
appropriation  made  in  1894.  In  addition  to  this  increase 
which  was  raised  by  taxation,  an  allowance  of  $3,000,000 
"for  the  purchase  of  new  school  sites  and  the  erection 
and  furnishing  of  new  schools  to  be  raised  by  the  issue  of 
bonds"  was  contained  in  the  budget  of  1896. 

The  need  for  better  buildings  was  urgent.  A  careful 
investigation,  made  by  "Good  Government  Club  E" 
under  the  direction  of  J.  Augustus  Johnson,  showed  that 
many  of  the  schools  were  in  unsanitary  condition,  badly 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     345 

ventilated,  dark  and  dirty.     The  report  of  the  Committee 
of  Seventy  on  this  subject  stated  truly : 

There  is  but  one  open-air  playground  worthy  of  the  name 
attached  to  a  public  school  on  Manhattan  Island.  There 
are  at  the  present  time  141  general  and  primary  schools  under 
the  control  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

The  new  Board  of  Education  contained  men  of  unusual 
ability  and  public  spirit,  who  gave  a  great  deal  of  time 
to  their  duties,  which  they  performed  without  salary. 
They  determined  to  bring  the  public  schools  of  New  York 
City  up  to  the  first  rank  of  American  schools,  and  they 
succeeded.  The  system  of  public  instruction  was  reorgan 
ized  under  the  authority  of  a  new  law  which  was  drawn  by 
the  Committee  of  Seventy. 

On  the  1 8th  of  May,  1896,  some  active  members 
of  the  Board  requested  Daniel  C.  Gilman,  President  of 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  to  accept  the  position  of  City 
Superintendent  of  the  Schools  of  New  York.  Mayor 
Strong  and  Seth  Low,  who  was  then  President  of  Columbia 
University,  wrote  Dr.  Gilman  urging  his  acceptance.  The 
position  cannot  be  better  expressed  than  in  his  reply  to 
the  Board  of  Education. 

An  opportunity  like  this  for  the  introduction  of  modern 
methods  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  all  classes  in  the 
community  has  never,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  occurred  before. 
I  should  consider  it  a  privilege  and  an  honor  to  take  a  responsi 
ble  part  in  a  work  of  such  magnitude  and  of  such  far  reaching 
influences.  For  surely  the  improvement  of  schools  in  the 
metropolis  would  be  for  the  advantage  of  the  whole  country 
and  for  the  whole  world.  .  .  .  Among  the  problems  that  are 
now  of  paramount  interest  is  the  permanent  separation  of  the 


346       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

public-schools  systems  from  the  influences  of  parties,  sects 
and  personal  preferments.  Again  there  is  the  world-wide 
question  of  our  time — how  can  old  methods  of  instruction 
be  improved  and  the  training  of  the  eye  and  the  hand  be 
secured  without  the  neglect  of  the  printed  page  ?  How  may 
morality  and  patriotism  be  promoted  in  schools  that  are 
governed  by  local  self-government  and  are  free  from  the 
control  of  all  religious  bodies  ? 

Dr.  Gilman  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  authorities 
of  Johns  Hopkins  had  informed  him  officially  that  his 
departure  at  that  time  would  be  regarded  by  them  "as  a 
calamity"  and  that  they  could  not  consent  to  his  leaving 
the  institution.  Under  these  circumstances  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  decline  and  added: 

I  ask  leave  to  add  an  expression  of  gratitude  to  those  who 
have  advocated  my  appointment.  I  would  also  express  my 
admiration  for  the  attitude  of  the  journals  of  New  York,  which 
have  stood  as  a  united  column  for  the  improvement  and  the 
advancement  of  the  public-school  system  with  suggestions  that 
are  full  of  promise  for  the  future.  In  my  belief  the  prosperity 
of  this  country  materially,  intellectually  and  morally  depends 
upon  the  wisdom  with  which  the  public  schools  are  main 
tained.  When  all  the  best  forces  of  the  metropolis  are  united 
for  this  end,  hope  and  courage  will  ever  prevail. 

No  result  of  the  labors  of  the  Committee  of  Seventy 
was  more  fruitful  than  the  reforms  they  accomplished  in 
the  management  of  the  public  schools.  The  new  high 
schools  which  they  established  were  admirably  equipped ; 
the  men  of  high  character  and  ability  whom  the  Board 
sought  out  from  every  part  of  the  country  and  installed 
in  these  schools  as  principals  and  assistants,  brought  to 
their  task  a  broad  outlook.  The  principals  and  teachers 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     347 

who  had  grown  up  under  the  existing  system  cooperated 
effectively.  The  whole  was  regenerated. 

The  new  Board  finally  elected  as  Superintendent, 
William  H.  Maxwell,  a  man  of  energy  and  skill  in  his  pro 
fession.  The  law  gave  him  a  permanence  of  tenure  so 
that  he  could  be  removed  only  for  cause.  He  has  held 
the  position  during  the  successive  administrations  of 
Mayors  Strong,  Van  Wyck,  Low,  McClellan,  Gaynor 
and  Mitchel.  I  have  not  always  agreed  with  him. 
I  thought  his  attitude  at  first  to  the  City  College  showed 
some  want  of  understanding  of  that  institution  and  its 
distinctive  merits,  but  the  trustees  of  that  college  and 
Dr.  Maxwell  have  come  to  understand  each  other  better 
and  there  is  now  cooperation  where  at  first  there  was 
not. 

The  next  pledge  of  the  platform  was  that  "the  pro 
perty  already  acquired  by  the  city  under  the  Small  Parks 
Act  shall  be  promptly  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  this 
acquisition. "  The  buying  of  larid  for  public  improvement 
and  leaving  it  in  possession  of  its  old  owners,  rent  free, 
while  the  city  paid  interest  on  its  cost,  was  one  of  the 
scandals  of  the  old  regime. 

The  Corporation  Counsel,  in  compliance  with  the 
pledge  of  the  Committee,  brought  to  a  conclusion  proceed 
ings  to  condemn  property  for  St.  Johns  Park,  in  Hudson 
Street.  In  that  case  and  in  the  proceedings  for  the 
Mulberry  Bend  Park,  final  orders  were  entered.  In  Mul 
berry  Bend  Park  the  demolition  of  buildings  was  substan 
tially  completed .  A  new  park  on  the  corner  of  St.  Nicholas 
and  Seventh  avenues  was  laid  out,  and  proceedings  to 


348        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

condemn  the  property  included  at  the  intersection  of  the 
two  avenues  were  prosecuted  vigorously. 

The  next  promise  of  the  platform  was  "greater  care 
and  thoroughness  in  the  enforcement  of  the  health  laws" 
and  "the  establishment  of  adequate  public  baths  and 
lavatories." 

Both  these  pledges  were  kept.  One  of  the  most  import 
ant  improvements  in  the  city  of  New  York  has  been  the 
introduction  of  public  lavatories.  Forty  years  ago  there 
was  only  one  in  the  whole  city,  a  circular  structure  in  the 
City  Hall  Park  with  an  eagle  on  top. 

The  administration  of  Mayor  Strong  built  bridges  over 
the  Harlem  River,  repaved  streets  and  avenues  in  what  is 
now  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx ;  provided  new  buildings  for 
the  Police  Department;  purchased  a  new  site  for  the 
College  of  the  City  of  New  York  and  enlarged  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art.  It  built  the  Speedway 
along  the  Harlem  River,  improved  the  terminals  of  the 
Brooklyn  Bridge  and  the  condition  and  management  of 
all  the  parks  and  parkways.  These  permanent  additions 
to  the  comfort  and  beauty  of  New  York  and  its  property 
are  so  familiar  now  that  their  authorship  is  often  for 
gotten. 

The  next  pledge  was  "the  adoption  of  a  thorough 
system  of  street  cleaning. " 

Colonel  George  E.  Waring's  appointment  as  head 
of  the  Street  Cleaning  Department  was  one  of  the  best 
made  by  the  reform  Mayor.  He  was  the  first  to  provide 
the  men  with  the  white  canvas  uniform.  He  stimulated 
them  to  take  pride  in  the  condition  of  the  horses  and 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     349 

wagons  and  to  raise  the  tone  of  the  Department.  The  ap 
propriation  for  street  cleaning  was  increased  from  $1,254,- 
ooo  to  53,200,000.  It  would  not  have  been  possible 
to  carry  on  the  Department  as  Waring  administered  it, 
upon  the  insufficient  allowance  made  to  his  predecessors. 
But  the  public  saw  his  efficiency  and  were  willing  to  pay 
for  it.  President  Cleveland  once  said  that  the  average 
citizen  ''does  not  think  there  is  anything  sordid  or  mean 
in  economy,  whether  private  or  public. "  It  is  also  true 
that  the  New  York  citizen  as  a  rule  knows  a  good  thing 
when  he  sees  it,  and  is  willing  to  pay  for  it  a  fair  price. 

One  reform  which  Waring  did  accomplish  in  the  direc 
tion  of  economy  deserves  to  be  noted.  The  men  in  the 
Department  had  been  paid  in  previous  administrations 
much  more  than  the  usual  rate  of  wages.  Probably  a  good 
slice  of  this  went  for  political  contributions.  Waring 
reduced  the  pay  for  each  man  to  the  fair,  customary  rate 
of  wages,  and  the  men  got  it  "all. 

The  most  competent  Commissioner  who  had  preceded 
Colonel  Waring,  Mr.  Coleman,  reported  in  1888  that  53 
miles  of  the  342  miles  of  paved  streets  then  in  the  city  were 
cleaned  daily.  In  1896,  under  Waring,  433  miles  of  city 
streets  were  cleaned  from  once  to  five  times  daily,  and  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  city  they  were  kept  clean. 
As  it  was  well  put  in  one  of  the  pamphlets  which  the 
Citizens'  Union  issued  in  July,  1897,  "the  annual  increased 
cost  of  keeping  the  streets  clean  has  been  no  greater  than 
the  annual  increased  cost  of  leaving  them  dirty. " 

Not  only  were  the  streets  kept  clean  from  ordinary  dirt, 
but  they  were  cleaned  from  snow  in  a  way  that  surprised 


350       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  most  hopeful.  Under  Waring's  predecessors  the  aver 
age  clearance  after  a  snowstorm  was  22-fo  miles  of  streets. 
This  was  done  only  in  the  business  districts.  Under 
Colonel  Waring's  efficient  administration  I44i~0-  miles 
was  the  average  clearance. 

A  curious  and  unexpected  result  of  this  effective  adminis 
tration  was  a  diminution  in  injuries  to  horses.  When  the 
streets  were  dirty,  nails  and  other  loose  pieces  of  iron  were 
hid  in  the  dirt  and  trod  upon.  Under  the  new  system 
they  were  swept  away  and  the  horses  escaped.  Another 
effect  of  reform  was  the  enforcement  of  the  ordinance 
that  had  existed  for  many  years,  requiring  street  railway 
companies  to  cart  away  the  snow  cleared  from  their  tracks 
by  snow  plows  and  sweeping  machines.  That  was  never 
enforced  until  Mayor  Strong's  administration. 

Another  improvement  in  his  time  was  to  prohibit  the 
leaving  of  trucks  in  the  streets  over  night.  When  this  was 
announced  there  was  a  great  outcry  from  their  owners,  but 
we  persisted  and  carried  our  point.  These  trucks  had  been 
a  serious  incumbrance  to  traffic.  They  impeded  the  work 
of  cleaning  the  streets  when  allowed  to  remain  during  the 
day,  as  they  often  were,  and  in  the  more  obscure  streets 
they  became  the  resort  of  disreputable  characters  and  a 
screen  for  riot  and  disorder.  On  a  section  of  East  Seventy- 
sixth  Street,  near  the  East  Side  House  Settlement,  their 
presence  and  the  use  to  which  they  were  put,  were  particu 
larly  obnoxious  to  decent  people,  and  we  were  assured 
that  in  many  other  places  the  conditions  were  just  as  bad. 

To  my  mind  the  most  important  achievement  of  Colonel 
Waring  is  to  be  found  in  his  establishment  of  a  system 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     351 

of  arbitration.  This  took  effect  January  7,  1896.  His 
communication  of  that  date  to  the  employees  of  the 
Department  of  Street  Cleaning  marks  an  era  in  industrial 
progress.  In  all  the  relations  of  life  except  those  between 
capital  and  labor,  civilization  has  abolished  private  war. 
and  compels  controversies  to  be  adjusted  by  the  courts. 
The  most  sacred  relations — between  man  and  wife, 
parent  and  child — are  dealt  with  by  the  judges,  and  either 
party  has  a  right  to  bring  the  other  before  the  court  and 
compel,  in  this  way,  a  peaceable  decision.  We  are  still  bar 
barous  enough  to  permit  controversies  between  employer 
and  employee  to  be  fought  out  through  the  archaic  strike 
or  lockout.  This  is  because  tribunals  of  arbitration  have 
not  been  established  by  law  before  which  either  party  to  a 
controversy  of  this  kind  can  oblige  the  other  to  appear. 
This  was  Colonel  Waring's  method: 

In  order  to  establish  friendly  and  useful  relations  between 
the  men  in  the  Working  Force  and  the  Officers  of  the  Depart 
ment.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  an  Organization  formed  among 
the  men  for  the  discussion  of  all  matters  of  interest. 

This  Organization  will  be  represented  by  five  Spokesmen  in  a 
"Board  of  Conference,"  in  which  the  Commissioner  will  be 
represented  by  the  General  Superintendent,  the  Chief  Clerk, 
one  District  Superintendent,  one  Section  Foreman  and  one 
Stable  Foreman. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  men  who  gather  at  each  Section 
Station  and  the  men  at  each  stable  (with  the  boardmen  from 
the  nearest  Dumps),  each  select  one  of  their  number  to  re 
present  them  in  a  General  Committee  of  41  (32  from  Section 
Stations  and  9  from  stables),  and  that  this  General  Committee 
elect  five  Spokesmen  by  whom  it  is  to  be  represented  in  the 
"Board  of  Conference." 

The  General  Committee  will  meet  in  a  room  to  be  provided 


352        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

for  them,  at  2  P.M.  on  every  Thursday,  except  the  third  Thurs 
day  of  each  month.  The  members  will  not  have  their  time 
docked  for  this.  Their  meetings  will  be  secret,  and  they  will 
be  expected  to  discuss  with  perfect  freedom  everything  con 
nected  with  their  work,  their  relations  with  the  Commissioner 
and  his  subordinates,  and  all  questions  of  discipline,  duties, 
pay,  etc.,  in  which  they  are  interested,  or  which  the  Sections, 
Stables  and  Dumps  may  have  submitted  to  them. 

The  "Board  of  Conference"  will  meet  at  2  P.M.  on  the  third 
Thursday  of  each  month,  or  as  near  to  this  date  as  the  exigen 
cies  of  the  work  will  allow. 

The  ten  members  of  the  "Board  of  Conference"  will  be  on  a 
perfect  equality.  It  will  establish  its  own  organization  and 
Rules  of  Procedure,  and  will  elect  one  of  its  members  Perma 
nent  Chairman  and  another  Permanent  Secretary,  one  of 
these  to  be  chosen  from  the  five  Officers  and  another  from  the 
five  Spokesmen. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  Board  will  be  able  to  settle  every  ques 
tion  that  may  come  up  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned, 
because  most  differences  can  be  adjusted  by  discussions  in 
which  both  sides  are  fairly  represented. 

Should  any  matter  arise  as  to  which  the  Board  cannot  come 
to  a  substantial  agreement,  the  Permanent  Chairman  and  the 
Permanent  Secretary  will  argue  the  case  before  the  Com 
missioner,  who  will  try  to  reach  a  fair  conclusion  upon  it. 

This  communication  was  received  with  suspicion.  To 
quote  from  a  report  made  to  the  Commissioner  by  Thomas 
A.  Doe,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Conference: 

A  large  percentage  of  the  men  were  members  of,  and  amen 
able  to,  organizations  which  existed  in  the  Department  under 
former  administrations. 

Aside  from  those  identified  by  membership  with  these  or 
ganizations,  there  were  many,  not  members,  who  held  a 
latent  sympathy  with  the  old  system  of  settling  differences 
by  strikes.  In  fact,  it  was  generally  understood  that  wrongs 
must  be  either  borne  or  righted  by  coercion.  Arbitration 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     353 

was  looked  upon  as  a  far-off  theory,  applicable,  perhaps,  at 
times,  somewhere  and  under  certain  conditions ;  but  the  idea 
of  its  adaptation  to  and  adoption  by  a  municipal  department 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  especially  the  Department  of 
Street  Cleaning,  where  political  preference  was  the  only  rule 
they  had  ever  known,  had  never  entered  their  minds.  In 
fact,  they  were  warned  by  skeptics,  both  outside  of  the  De 
partment  and  among  themselves,  to  "look  out  for  Waring; 
this  is  one  of  his  tricks."  That  any  commissioner  of  Street 
Cleaning,  even  though  he  were  an  "angel,"  should  honestly 
intend,  and  honestly  endeavor  to  deal  fairly  with  the  rank 
and  file  of  those  under  him,  was  too  much  to  believe.  There 
must,  they  thought,  be  some  sinister  motive  behind  it. 

Gradually,  however,  the  better  element  among  the  men  did 
believe  in  it,  and  as  their  faith  grew  stronger,  the  malcontents 
were  either  converted  or  thrust  out,  and  slowly,  but  surely,  the 
"Committee  of  41"  became  a  body  of  earnest  and  honest 
cooperators  with  the  Commissioner,  toward  the  mutual  confi 
dence  so  essential  for  contentment  on  the  part  of  the  men, 
and  without  which  the  best  results  from  the  combined  efforts 
of  the  Commissioner  and  themselves,  could  not  be  expected. 

This  Committee  dealt  with  all  complaints  made  against 
members  of  the  force  and  with  all  grievances  which  any 
member  claimed  to  have  felt.  The  total  number  of  cases 
considered  by  the  Board  during  the  first  year,  was  124,  an 
average  of  over  ten  for  each  meeting. 

To  quote  again  from  the  report : 

On  October  2, 1896,  the  Sweepers  and  Drivers  held  an  outing 
to  which  were  invited  their  wives,  sisters  and  sweethearts. 
At  that  time  there  were  emphatic  expressions  by  the  men  of 
satisfaction  with  the  plan  of  arbitration. 

The  next  pledge  was  for  increased  rapid-transit  facili 
ties.  Mayor  Strong's  administration  gave  hearty  sup- 

23 


354       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

port  to  the  work  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Commission  which 
was  the  predecessor  of  the  Public  Service  Commission. 
When  Henry  R.  Beekman  became  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Edward  M.  Shepard  was  appointed  his  successor  as 
counsel  to  this  Commission.  It  was  Shepard  who  drew 
the  contracts  for  the  construction  of  the  first  subway.  A 
masterpiece  of  work  they  were.  This  subway  was  origi 
nally  planned  with  a  branch  on  the  East  Side,  but  the 
Appellate  Division  of  the  Supreme  Court  refused  its 
consent  to  this  branch  on  the  ground  that  the  construc 
tion  of  it  would  unduly  increase  the  indebtedness  of  the 
city,  and  partly  also  on  the  ground  that  the  East  Side 
facilities  for  rapid  transit  were  greater  than  on  the  West 
Side.  A  curious  instance  of  the  development  of  corpor 
ate  sentiment  on  a  subject  of  this  sort  exists  in  the  fact 
that  when  this  subway  was  planned,  an  offer  was  made  by 
the  Commissioners  to  give  to  the  New  York  Central  Rail 
road  a  station  of  the  subway  at  their  terminal.  Indeed 
the  New  York  Central  could  have  obtained  the  charter  for 
the  first  subway  had  it  been  so  minded.  The  franchise 
was  offered  at  auction,  but  there  was  not  a  single  bona- 
fide  bid.  The  railroad  officials  looked  with  so  much  doubt 
upon  the  success  of  the  new  enterprise  that  they  refused 
to  take  the  franchise  and  refused  also  to  permit  a  station 
to  be  constructed  under  their  terminal.  This  station 
accordingly  was  constructed  under  Forty-second  Street 
adjacent  to  Park  Avenue.  In  the  new  terminal  of  the 
New  York  Central  there  is  direct  access  to  the  subway. 
The  easterly  branch,  which  was  part  of  the  first  system 
as  planned,  is  now  (1916)  being  constructed  in  Lexington 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     355 

Avenue.  One  part  of  Shepard's  plan  for  the  stations 
was  to  prohibit  advertising  signs  in  them.  Here  how 
ever  the  operating  company  carried  its  point  and  these 
signs  are  to  be  seen  in  every  station.  The  artistic  design 
of  these  stations  is  largely  due  to  Mr.  Shepard's  insistence 
in  the  contract  for  construction. 

The  Committee  of  Seventy  also  pledged  the  city  to 
the  improvement  of  its  piers  and  waterfronts.  The 
piers  constructed  under  the  Strong  administration  were  a 
great  improvement,  not  only  in  size  but  in  convenience 
over  any  that  we  had  before.  The  credit  of  these  improve 
ments  is  largely  due  to  the  engineer-in-chief  of  the  Depart 
ment,  George  S.  Greene,  Junior.  These  became  a  source 
of  revenue  for  the  city  and  a  great  convenience  to  travelers 
and  exporters. 

Charles  H.  T.  Collis  was  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
Works.  A  new  line  of  mains  was  laid  to  afford  a  better 
supply  of  water  to  that  part  of  the  city  below  Canal 
Street.  The  size  of  the  buildings  in  this  district  had 
increased.  The  population  during  the  daytime  had 
increased  in  even  greater  proportion  and  the  risk  of  fire 
called  loudly  for  this  change.  I  tried  to  convince  the 
Mayor  and  Collis  that  the  opportunity  should  be  taken  to 
construct  a  pipe  gallery  in  which  not  only  this  new  main 
but  the  gas  pipes  and  electric  pipes  could  also  be  placed. 
Their  objection  was  on  the  score  of  expense.  I  argued 
that  in  the  end  the  expense  would  be  less,  because  it  would 
not  be  necessary  to  cut  up  the  pavement  of  the  streets 
whenever  repairs  were  required  or  new  pipes  were  to  be 
laid.  But  in  this  I  failed.  We  are  not  yet  educated  up 


356       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  the  point  of  pipe  galleries,  although  the  experience  of 
Paris  has  shown  them  to  be  a  great  advantage. 

We  effected  the  division  of  the  Department  of  Charities 
and  Correction.  On  the  first  of  January,  1896,  an  Act 
took  effect,  providing  for  the  appointment  by  the  Mayor 
of  separate  Commissioners  of  Charities  and  of  Correction. 
This  has  greatly  improved  the  administration  of  both 
departments. 

The  City  College  had  long  since  outgrown  its  quarters 
in  the  building  on  the  corner  of  Lexington  Avenue  and 
Twenty-third  Street.  The  additions  which  had  been 
made  to  it  and  the  rooms  which  had  been  hired  for  its  use 
were  inadequate  and  inconvenient.  The  Board  of  Edu 
cation  who  were  then  ex  officio  trustees  of  the  City  College 
determined  to  construct  a  new  building  on  the  site  of 
St.  Nicholas  Terrace  south  of  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
ninth  Street.  A  limited  competition  was  decided  on. 
Plans  were  submitted  by  the  various  competitors,  among 
whom  were  McKim,  Mead  &  White,  George  M.  Huss, 
who  was  himself  a  City  College  graduate  of  the  class  of 
'Seventy-three,  and  others.  The  plans  were  open  for 
public  inspection  in  the  hall  of  the  College.  The  Associate 
Alumni  appointed  a  Committee  to  examine  them  and  to 
confer  with  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Edu 
cation.  I  was  chairman  of  this  Alumni  Committee.  I 
consulted  with  my  friend  and  classmate,  Russell  Sturgis,  on 
the  subject,  and  it  was  with  his  full  concurrence  that  our 
Committee  recommended  the  collegiate  Gothic  design  of 
George  B.  Post.  This  was  the  one  selected  by  the  Com 
mittee  and  adopted  in  the  erection  of  the  College  build- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     357 

ings.  There  are  certainly  no  finer  college  buildings  in 
America. 

In  this  administration  the  Police  Courts  were  reorgan 
ized.  The  Police  Magistrates  who  were  in  office  in  1894 
were  in  the  main  unfit  persons.  They  had  been  elected 
on  the  vicious  district  system,  which  of  all  methods  of 
selecting  judges  is  probably  the  worst.  It  is  very  well  to 
say  that  you  should  trust  the  people.  Certainly  we  should 
trust  the  people  to  do  what  the  people  are  competent  to  do 
and  willing  to  do.  But  the  average  voter  is  not  familiar 
with  the  qualifications  of  candidates  for  judicial  office 
and  as  a  rule  is  not  qualified  to  pass  upon  them.  Experi 
ence  shows  that  he  will  not  take  pains  to  inform  himself 
about  them.  I  venture  to  say  that  in  the  election  of  1912 
three-quarters  of  the  voters  of  the  State  of  New  York 
could  not  have  told  the  names  of  the  candidates  for  the 
Court  of  Appeals.  Yet  this  was  the  most  important 
State  office  to  be  filled  at  this  election.  This  criticism  is 
far  more  applicable  to  the  election  in  small  districts. 

One  of  the  first  undertakings  of  the  Committee  on 
Legislation  of  the  Seventy  was  to  draw  a  bill  abolishing 
the  existing  Police  Court  and  providing  for  a  new  Board  of 
Police  Magistrates  to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor.  The 
bill  passed.  Mayor  Strong  took  great  pains  to  inform 
himself  as  to  the  merits  of  the  various  candidates  for  this 
new  position.  He  appointed  a  committee  of  lawyers  of 
which  Mr.  Charles  C.  Beaman  and  myself  were  members. 
We  met  at  his  house  and  went  over  the  names  which  had 
been  suggested.  In  the  main  he  followed  our  advice.  He 
made  an  admirable  selection.  It  is  especially  in  the  in- 


358       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

terest  of  the  plain  people  that  the  Police  Magistrates 
should  be  honest,  industrious,  intelligent,  with  a  knowl 
edge  of  human  nature  and  a  keen  sense  of  justice. 

I  have  thus  told  the  story  of  the  good  side  of  Mayor 
Strong's  administration.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that 
he  should  make  no  mistakes.  His  most  serious  error 
in  judgment  caused  him  great  trouble.  In  an  endeavor 
to  be  nonpartisan  he  became  multipartisan.  It  seemed  to 
him  proper  that  he  should  give  to  the  various  organizations 
that  had  supported  him  the  naming  of  the  persons  to  fill 
some  of  the  offices  within  the  scope  of  his  power  of  appoint 
ment.  In  some  cases  he  made  appointments  thus  recom 
mended,  without  sufficient  consideration  of  the  merits  of 
the  candidate.  One  of  the  appointments  to  the  Fire 
Department  was  particularly  obnoxious. 

During  his  administration  it  had  been  decided,  by 
a  referendum  under  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  to  unite 
with  the  old  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Staten  Island,  about 
half  of  Queens  County,  and  the  southern  part  of  Westches- 
ter  County.  A  new  charter  was  framed  and  adopted. 

The  citizens  who  had  united  to  elect  Mayor  Strong 
had  to  deal,  in  1897,  with  the  more  serious  problem  of  the 
election  of  an  independent  Mayor,  who  would  make  for 
Greater  New  York  an  even  better  record  than  Strong 
had  made  in  the  old  city.  We  determined  to  form  a 
Citizens'  Union,  a  permanent  municipal-reform  party, 
independent  in  national  politics,  and  able  to  take  advan 
tage  of  the  provision  of  the  new  State  constitution,  that 
municipal  elections  should  be  held  in  different  years  from 
National  and  State  elections.  On  February  22,  1897, 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     359 

we  issued  an  address  to  the  citizens  of  New  York.     We 
declared : 

The  issues  presented  will  be  purely  local.  The  result  of 
the  election  will  determine  whether,  for  the  ensuing  two  years 
and  probably  for  a  much  longer  period,  the  City  of  New  York 
is  to  be  governed  solely  in  the  interest  of  its  citizens  or  in 
reference  to  the  aims  and  policy  of  National  and  State  parties. 
In  this  respect  the  election  of  1 897  will  be  a  crisis  so  important 
as  to  demand  of  every  citizen  the  full  performance  of  his  public 
duty. 

Experience  has  demonstrated:  first,  that  good  city  govern 
ment  cannot  be  secured  through  the  agency  of  existing  parties 
organized  upon  National  and  State  issues ;  and,  second,  that  it 
can  be  secured  through  the  united  action  of  citizens  earnestly 
determined  that  the  city  shall  be  governed  solely  with  reference 
to  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  its  citizens.  But  it  is  essential 
that  this  action  shall  be  concerted,  and  that  it  shall  be 
thoroughly  organized. 

A  large  number  of  citizens  have  resolved  to  unite  in  further 
ance  of  the  administration,  and  for  this  purpose  to  organize 
a  Citizens'  Union.  By  this  term  is  meant  an  association  of 
voters  devoted  to  the  one  end  of  securing  permanently  for  the 
city  honest  government  and  efficient  administration  of  the 
city's  affairs,  unqualifiedly  pledged  to  disregard  all  considera 
tions  of  National  and  State  politics  and  parties  in  the  election 
of  city  officers  and  the  government  of  the  city. 

A  committee  of  organization  was  formed.  Of  this 
the  following  were  prominent  members:  Elihu  Root, 
Abram  S.  Hewitt,  John  Claflin,  Charles  S.  Fairchild, 
Gustav  H.  Schwab,  George  L.  Rives,  John  E.  Eustis, 
James  C.  Carter,  Wager  Swayne,  James  B.  Reynolds, 
Henry  White,  John  Crosby  Brown,  R.  Fulton  Cutting, 
Edward  D.  Page,  Charles  H.  Strong  and  Nicholas  Mur 
ray  Butler.  A  meeting  on  the  evening  of  March  22d 


360       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

effected  a  permanent  organization.     We  issued  an  appeal 
to  the  voters  of  Greater  New  York  on  April  9,  1897: 

Without  calling  upon  any  citizen  to  surrender  in  any  degree 
his  allegiance  to  his  party,  we  insist  upon  an  entire  separation 
of  municipal  government  from  National  and  State  politics,  and 
we  appeal  to  all  good  citizens  of  whatever  party  to  unite  with 
us  in  an  organized  effort  to  accomplish  the  objects  of  this 
Union. 

On  this  basis  we  asked  the  voters  to  enroll.  The 
declaration  was  printed  on  the  back  of  the  enrolment 
blanks,  and  these  were  sent  to  every  voter  who  had  been 
registered  at  the  previous  election,  with  the  request  that 
he  sign  it  and  return  it  to  our  headquarters,  No.  39  East 
Twenty-third  Street.  About  23,000  enrolled.  We  formed 
an  executive  committee,  of  which  James  B.  Reynolds  was 
the  chairman.  There  were  numerous  sub-committees 
and  a  campaign  committee  in  each  Assembly  district  in 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx.  One  of  our  most  effective 
members  in  Brooklyn  was  Abner  S.  Haight. 

R.  Fulton  Cutting  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Citi 
zens'  Union;  Charles  Stewart  Smith,  vice-chairman; 
J.  Kennedy  Tod,  treasurer;  and  we  set  to  work  at  once  to 
prepare  for  the  campaign.  The  Committee  on  Press  and 
Literature,  of  which  R.  W.  Gilder  was  chairman,  issued 
a  campaign  text-book,  entitled  The  City  for  the  People. 
This  dwelt,  first,  upon  the  vital  importance  of  separating 
municipal  elections  from  party  politics. 

Ex-Governor  Flower,  for  the  Democratic  organization, 
protested  against  this  principle,  and  Edward  Lauterbach 
made  a  similar  protest  on  behalf  of  the  Republican  organi- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     361 

zation.  We  had  to  face  them  and  their  associates.  We 
pointed  out  evils  that  had  flowed  from  partisan  adminis 
tration  of  the  city  government  ever  since  the  year  1821, 
when,  for  the  first  time,  the  city  was  given  by  the  con 
stitutional  convention  of  that  year  the  power  to  elect  its 
own  officers. 

We  also  pointed  out  evils  that  had  resulted  from  the 
interference  by  the  Legislature  with  the  government  of  the 
city.  We  quoted  from  Mayor  Grace's  second  message 
in  January,  1882: 

To  strive  for  reform  in  municipal  government  while  admit 
ting  the  uncontrolled  right  of  partisan  legislative  majorities 
at  the  State  Capitol  to  change  our  Charter  system  at  will,  is 
to  strive  for  the  impossible.  While  the  city  of  New  York  is  a 
body  politic,  it  is  none  the  less  a  business  corporation  possessed 
of  a  vast  property,  having  interests  of  imperial  magnitude,  and 
the  transaction  of  the  affairs  of  which  demands  the  expenditure 
of  many  millions  of  dollars  annually.  How  its  affairs  should  be 
managed,  how  its  millions  should  be  spent  and  by  whom, 
should  be  determined  by  the  citizens  who  stand  to  the  city  as 
corporators  to  a  corporation,  and  who  have  a  personal  stake 
in  the  welfare  of  the  community,  rather  than  by  an  external 
and  less  interested  body. 

Not  only  had  the  money  of  the  city  been  wasted  by  the 
partisan  mayors  who  had  succeeded  Mayor  Hewitt,  but 
the  police  administration,  which  he  had  reformed,  had 
become  as  bad  as  ever. 

In  the  words  of  Senator  Lexow  the  public  had 

believed  that  toll  and  tribute  were  levied  sporadically,  accord 
ing  to  the  pressing  necessities  of  officials,  but  no  one  had  appre 
ciated  that  corruption  had  been  reduced  to  such  a  perfect 
system,  extending  throughout  every  precinct  of  the  city,  and 


362       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

was  so  systematized  that  upon  the  transfer  of  captains  not 
even  the  conversations  with  the  ward  men  were  necessary 
in  order  to  impress  upon  them  their  duty  as  collectors  of 
unlawful  revenue.  This  had  been  proven  to  be  the  true  state 
of  affairs — not  apparently  the  creation  of  months,  but  of  years 
during  which  undoubtedly  the  evil  has  progressively  increased 
until  we  find  it  in  its  present  condition  of  perfect  development. 

Mayor  Strong  had  become  convinced  of  the  evils 
of  partisan  administration  and  his  declaration  earlier  in 
the  year  was  of  great  value  to  us. 

My  experience  in  the  City  Hall  has  impressed  me  strongly 
with  the  fact  that  the  conduct  of  a  city  government  is  purely 
a  business  matter.  This  applies  to  the  work  of  the  different 
departments  quite  as  much  as  to  the  Mayor's  office,  and  I 
venture  to  say  as  the  result  of  my  observations  that  whenever 
the  City  Departments  have  been  used  for  political  purposes 
they  have  been  used  against  the  public  interests.  The  further 
away  from  politics  that  a  city  officer  gets  in  the  performance 
of  his  duties,  the  better  for  him  and  for  the  people. 

We  called  attention  to  the  great  improvement  in 
the  organization  of  the  city  government.  In  Governor 
Tilden's  first  annual  message  in  1875,  ne  made  the  follow 
ing  statement : 

It  is  long  since  the  people  of  the  city  of  New  York  have 
elected  any  Mayor  who  has  had  the  appointment  after  his 
administration  of  the  important  municipal  officers. 

Since  that  date  the  power  of  the  Mayor  had  been 
greatly  increased.  One  fruitful  source  of  corruption,  the 
power  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  to  reject  his  appointments, 
had  been  abolished.  Under  the  new  charter  the  Mayor 
was  to  appoint  all  the  administrative  officers  of  the  city 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     363 

except  the  Comptroller.  On  the  other  hand  the  power  of 
the  city  government  in  reference  to  taxation  and  indebt 
edness  had  been  limited  by  the  Constitutional  Amend 
ment  recommended  by  Governor  Tilden  and  required 
by  the  Constitution  of  1846,  which  Tilden  had  helped  to 
frame.  This  provided  as  follows: 

No  ...  city  of  over  100,000  inhabitants  .  .  .  shall  be 
allowed  to  become  indebted  for  any  purpose  or  in  any  manner 
to  an  amount  which,  including  existing  indebtedness,  shall 
exceed  ten  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  real  estate 
of  such  .  .  .  city  subject  to  taxation.  .  .  .  The  amount  here 
after  to  be  raised  by  tax  for  ...  city  purposes,  in  any  .  .  . 
city  of  over  100,000  inhabitants  ...  in  addition  to  providing 
for  the  principal  and  interest  of  existing  debt,  shall  not  in  the 
aggregate  exceed  in  any  one  year  two  per  cent,  of  the  assessed 
valuation  of  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  such  city. 

The  amendment  of  1896  limited  the  power  of  the 
Legislature  to  amend  the  charters  of  cities,  and  required 
that  this  should  be  done  by  general  law.  It  also  provided 

that  after  any  bill  for  a  special  city  law  has  been  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  the  House  in  which  it  originated  shall  immedi 
ately  transmit  a  certified  copy  thereof  to  the  Mayor  of  such 
city.  The  Mayor  is  required  to  return  the  bill  within  fifteen 
days  to  the  House  from  which  it  was  sent,  or,  if  the  legislative 
session  has  ended,  to  the  Governor,  bearing  the  Mayor's 
certificate  as  to  whether  the  city  has  or  has  not  accepted  the 
bill. 

Another  important  increase  of  the  powers  of  the  city 
had  been  in  reference  to  the  grant  of  public  franchises. 
These  were  originally,  except  markets  and  ferries,  under 
the  control  of  the  State.  The  first  street  railroad  com- 


364       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

panics  in  New  York  City  were  chartered  by  the  State 
without  any  control  from  the  city  authorities.  In  1875 
provision  was  made  for  the  appointment  of  Commissioners 
of  Rapid  Transit  by  the  Mayor  of  the  city.  Under  this  act 
the  elevated  railroads  had  been  authorized,  incorporated, 
and  operated.  This  act  provided  for  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  special  board  upon  each  application  for  a  fran 
chise.  At  a  later  period  provision  was  made  by  law  for  a 
permanent  Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners,  to  whom 
such  applications  should  be  submitted,  and  this  again  at  a 
later  period  gave  place  to  a  Public  Service  Commission. 

One  of  the  first  of  our  Mayors  to  advocate  the  require 
ment  that  franchises  in  the  gift  of  the  city  should  be 
utilized  as  sources  of  revenue,  was  Mayor  Grace.  This 
he  did  in  his  message  of  January  3,  1881.  Mayor  Hewitt, 
in  1888,  urged  upon  the  Board  of  Aldermen  that  the  exist 
ing  street  railroad  companies  could  claim  no  vested  rights 
in  the  exclusive  use  of  the  streets  upon  which  they  had  been 
authorized  to  run  cars,  but  that  as  experience  developed 
better  means  of  transportation  through  the  streets,  "the 
rights  which  private  parties  may  have  acquired  cannot  be 
urged  as  an  obstacle  to  the  exercise  of  the  inherent  and 
superior  rights  of  the  people.  The  question  of  indemnity 
and  compensation  would  be  one  for  the  courts  to  settle. " 
The  positions  thus  taken  were  advocated  in  the  press  and 
from  the  platform,  not  only  in  New  York,  but  in  many 
other  cities. 

The  new  charter  which  had  been  framed  for  the  Greater 
New  York  had  given  the  city  practically,  though  not 
in  name,  a  commission  government.  The  Board  of  Esti- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     365 

mate,  which  is  the  real  governing  body,  is  a  Commission 
composed  of  the  Mayor,  with  three  votes ;  the  Comptroller, 
with  three ;  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  who  is 
the  Vice-Mayor,  also  with  three;  Borough  Presidents  of 
Manhattan,  Brooklyn  and  the  Bronx,  with  two  votes 
each,  and  of  Richmond  and  Queens  with  one  vote  each. 
The  three  first  named  officials  are  elected  by  the  city  at 
large,  and  with  their  nine  votes  constitute  a  voting 
majority  of  the  Board. 

The  charter  also  contained  certain  requirements, 
which  may  thus  be  summarized : 

The  rights  of  the  city  in  and  to  its  property  (waterfront, 
streets,  etc.)  are  inalienable. 

Hereafter  no  franchise  to  use  this  property  shall  be  granted 
for  a  longer  period  than  twenty-five  years,  with  renewals 
optional  on  the  part  of  the  city,  but  not  to  exceed  in  the 
aggregate  twenty-five  years  more. 

Upon  the  termination  of  such  a  grant,  the  plant  and  prop 
erty  in  the  streets  shall,  as  the  terms  of  the  grant  may  pre 
scribe,  either  become  the  city's  property,  without  money 
payment  therefor,  or  be  taken  at  a  valuation. 

In  the  event  of  taking  the  property  without  compensation, 
the  city  may  conduct  the  service  itself  or  renew  the  old  lease 
for  not  more  than  twenty  years,  or  grant  a  new  lease  for  not 
more  than  twenty-five  years. 

During  the  campaign  of  1897  we  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  city  was  receiving  a  revenue  from  ferry 
rents  of  $346,598;  from  dock  and  wharf  rents,  $3,039,015, 
and  from  water  rents,  $4,051,555.  The  old  Croton 
Aqueduct,  which  was  finished  in  1842,  at  a  cost  of  $8,575,- 
ooo,  had  been  paid  for  many  times  over  by  the  water 


366       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

rents,  and  in  comparison  with  these  revenues  the  receipts 
from  railway  franchises  and  street-car  licenses  of  New 
York  amounted  in  1896  to  the  wholly  inadequate  sum  of 
$334,013.  Mr.  Low's  letter  of  acceptance  took  strong 
ground  on  this  subject. 

Meanwhile  a  bill  had  passed  the  Legislature  in  1894 
which  provided  that  the  question  of  municipal  construc 
tion  of  an  additional  railway  should  be  submitted  to  a 
vote  of  the  people,  and  that,  if  the  people  should  so  de 
termine,  the  Commission  was  to  design  and  construct  a 
rapid-transit  railway  and  secure  for  it  a  lessee.  On  Nov 
ember  6,  1904,  the  question  of  municipal  construction  was 
submitted  to  popular  vote,  and  was  answered  in  the 
affirmative.  In  accordance  with  this  vote  the  Commission 
determined  on  the  line  of  the  first  subway,  extending  from 
the  South  Ferry  northward  to  Ninety-sixth  Street,  and 
there  diverging  in  two  branches.  When  the  subway 
was  finished  it  was  leased.  This  lease  has  been  a  source 
of  profit  to  the  operating  company  and  an  increasing 
source  of  revenue  to  the  city. 

The  founders  of  the  Citizens'  Union  were  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  coming  election. 
We  made  a  careful  canvass  of  candidates.  Seth  Low  had 
served  as  Mayor  of  Brooklyn  with  honor  to  himself  and 
usefulness  to  the  city  from  January  I,  1882,  to  January  i, 
1 886.  In  October,  1 889,  he  became  President  of  Columbia 
College.  During  his  presidency  that  college  became  a 
university,  and  established  on  Morningside  Heights 
buildings  worthy  of  the  university  and  of  the  city.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Greater  New  York  Charter  Com- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     36? 

mission,  had  acted  as  referee  in  many  arbitrations  of  dis 
putes  between  labor  unions  and  employers,  and  had  been 
active  in  the  direction  and  management  of  many  charitable 
societies.  In  short,  he  seemed  to  us  the  man  for  the  place. 
Accordingly,  we  circulated  blanks  in  the  following  form: 

For  Mayor,  Seth  Low. 

The  undersigned  voters  of  the  city  of  New  York  desire  the 
nomination  and  election  of  the  Honorable  Seth  Low  as  Mayor. 

These  blanks  were  signed  by  127,903  voters.  The 
total  vote  at  the  subsequent  election  of  1897  was  about 
525,000.  To  start  with  an  enrolment  of  nearly  one 
quarter  of  this  number  was  a  good  beginning.  The  nomi 
nation  was  tendered  to  Mr.  Low  on  the  third  of  September, 
and  ten  days  afterwards  he  gave  us  his  formal  letter  of 
acceptance.  He  closed  with  the  following: 

The  city  of  New  York  will  have  a  population  larger  than 
that  of  most  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  and  larger  than  that 
of  all  the  colonies  combined  when  they  issued  their  Declaration 
of  Independence.  The  wish  of  those  for  whom  you  speak, 
as  I  understand  it,  is  especially  to  secure  for  this  imperial 
city  the  opportunity  to  start  upon  its  new  career  under  an 
administration  pledged  to  make  the  interests  of  the  city  its 
supreme  care.  Such  a  purpose  ought  to  appeal  to  the  civic 
pride  of  every  citizen.  I  could  wish  that  the  popular  move 
ment  that  you  represent  had  designated  some  other  man  to 
lead  in  the  great  struggle ;  for  in  such  a  cause  it  would  have  been 
a  pleasure  to  serve  in  the  ranks.  But  if  my  fellow-citizens 
see  fit  to  entrust  the  arduous  task  to  me,  I  shall  serve  them 
loyally  with  every  power  that  I  have. 

Then  we  entered  actively  upon  the  canvass.  We 
held  meetings  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  We  circulated 


368        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

posters  and  cards,  pamphlets  and  leaflets.  The  news 
papers  generally  were  with  us  and  we  had  strong  hopes 
of  success. 

But  the  Republican  organization  refused  to  endorse 
Low.  One  of  their  leaders  said : 

The  trouble  with  Low  is  that  he  not  only  would  not 
appoint  a  man  named  by  Mr.  Platt,  but  even  if  Mr.  Platt 
gave  him  two  or  three  names  to  choose  from,  very  likely  he 
wouldn't  take  one  of  them. 

The  Republicans  held  a  City  Convention  on  September 
1 8th.  The  platform  endorsed  the  Republican  party 
measures,  and  particularly  the  McKinley  tariff,  which 
had  been  obnoxious  to  the  city  of  New  York.  It  endorsed 
the  administration  of  Governor  Black,  and  the  record  of 
the  last  Legislature,  which  had  adopted  the  Black  bill, 
which,  in  the  words  of  its  author,  was  intended  to  "take 
all  the  starch  out  of  civil  service  reform."  Yet  the 
convention  had  the  boldness  to  say: 

Every  intelligent  voter  knows,  on  the  other  hand,  that, 
if  the  first  Mayor  of  the  Greater  New  York  is  a  Tammany 
Democrat,  the  effect  will  be  greatly  to  revive  the  hopes  and 
promote  the  schemes  that  are  grouped  in  the  public  mind 
under  the  name  of  Bryanism,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  deliver 
this  magnificent  metropolis  into  the  hands  of  an  organized 
conspiracy  for  public  plunder. 

This  curious  coupling  of  national  politics  in  reference 
to  the  gold  standard,  and  of  local  administration,  was 
in  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  platform.  Upon  it  the 
Convention  nominated  Benjamin  F.  Tracy  for  Mayor. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     369 

He  had  been  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.     In  his  speech  of  acceptance  he  declared: 

The  great  duty  of  the  hour  is  union  and  harmony  among  the 
friends  of  good  government.  It  is  obvious  that  the  struggle 
that  we  are  about  to  enter  will  be  a  severe  one,  and  that  the 
result  may  be  determined  by  the  action  of  a  small  number  of 
voters.  If  two  candidates  remain  in  the  field  and  divide  the 
votes  that  should  be  united,  the  chances  of  success  will  be 
obviously  less. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  desire  for  union,  the  platform 
upon  which  he  was  nominated  was  one  that  the  Demo 
crats  could  not  possibly  support,  because  it  injected  na 
tional  politics  into  municipal  affairs.  Nevertheless  he 
remained  in  the  field  until  the  day  of  election.  A  body 
of  Independents,  calling  themselves  Jeffersonian  Demo 
crats,  nominated  Henry  George  for  Mayor.  George  died 
during  the  campaign,  but  his  son  caught  up  the  banner  and 
continued  to  advocate  a  separate  ticket.  To  oppose  the 
unfortunate  division  created  by  the  nomination  of  Tracy, 
we  circulated  a  great  deal  of  literature.  The  following  card , 
of  which  hundreds  of  thousands  were  printed,  is  a  sample : 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  free-silver  way  of  running  our 
schools. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  high-tariff  way  of  putting  out 
fires. 

Keep  national  issues  out  of  the  city  election. 

Enroll  in  the  Citizens'  Union,  and  elect  city  officers  who  will 
run  the  city  government  for  the  people,  and  not  for  any  boss 
or  party. 

On  the  back  of  this  was  the  declaration  of  the  Citizens' 
Union  which  has  been  already  quoted. 


370       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

We  cooperated  with  leading  Republicans  in  calling  a 
Republican  meeting  to  endorse  the  nomination  of  Low. 
This  was  held  at  Carnegie  Hall,  October  22d.  Mr. 
Low,  Mayor  Strong,  Elihu  Root,  Wager  Swayne  and 
Joseph  H.  Choate  addressed  the  meeting.  This  meet 
ing  was  enthusiastic,  but,  as  all  New  Yorkers  know,  enthu 
siastic  meetings  do  not  always  imply  success  in  the 
election. 

The  great  day  came  when  the  votes  were  counted, 
and  the  results  were  as  follows: 

For  Mayor, 

Van  Wyck , 233,997 

Low 151,540 

Tracy 101,864 

George 21,693    275,096 

Van  Wyck  over  Low 82,457 

The  field  over  Van  Wyck 41,099 

In  this  computation  I  disregard  a  small  Socialist  vote. 
If  all  the  Tracy  voters  had  voted  for  Low,  we  should 
have  carried  the  election.  The  Republican  declaration 
that  Tracy  was  the  most  available  candidate  was  absurd, 
and  the  fine  talk  about  harmony  in  which  he  indulged 
was  visionary. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  Robert  Van  Wyck  became 
the  first  Mayor  of  Greater  New  York.  Our  arguments 
had  been  just  and  true,  but  a  story  which  Benjamin 
Franklin  tells  in  his  amusing  autobiography  accounts  in 
part  for  the  result.  Mayor  Strong* s  administration  had 
been  one  of  continuous  reforms.  The  administration  of 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1895-1901     371 

the  city  government  made  more  progress  during  his  term  of 
three  years  than  during  that  of  any  Mayor  in  my  time 
except  the  period  immediately  after  the  downfall  of  the 
Tweed  regime. 

This  is  the  story.  A  friend  of  Franklin's  thought 
he  would  like  to  have  an  axe,  the  sides  of  which  should 
be  as  polished  as  the  edge.  He  applied  to  Franklin  for 
assistance.  Franklin  agreed  to  hold  the  axe  if  his  friend 
would  turn  the  grindstone.  They  set  to  work,  and  after 
a  while  took  off  the  axe  for  examination.  The  sides 
were  partly  polished  as  the  result  of  much  sweat.  Frank 
lin  proposed  to  resume  the  task,  but  the  friend  declined, 
saying:  "I  think  I  like  a  speckled  axe  best." 

On  the  whole  it  does  appear  that  after  every  era  of 
reform,  the  number  of  persons  to  whom  the  reform  in  one 
respect  or  another  is  disagreeable  is  so  great,  and  the 
excesses  of  some  reformers  have  made  their  cause  so  offen 
sive,  that  the  majority  of  the  voters  conclude  that  it  would 
be  too  fatiguing  to  polish  up  the  whole  axe  and  that  it  is 
better  for  a  while  to  take  it  speckled  as  it  is. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1 902-19! 5 

DURING  the  Low  campaign,  one  of  the  amusing  features 
had  been  a  little  periodical  called  the  Nursery,  which  was 
edited  and  published  by  John  J.  Chapman.  He  said 
that  the  object  of  the  Nursery  was  to  tell  the  truth,  and 
he  did  tell  some  home  truths  in  a  brilliant  way.  He 
gave  the  following  consolation : 

Defeat  on  election  day?'  Why,  man,  what  are  you  saying? 
There  were  just  151,700  victories  on  the  2d  of  last  November. 
Every  man  who  voted  for  the  candidates  of  the  Citizens' 
party  achieved  a  victory  over  himself;  over  his  purblind 
ignorance ;  over  his  cowardice ;  his  partisan  spirit.  He  fought 
for  freedom,  and  he  won.  When  men  have  conquered  them 
selves,  then,  and  not  till  then,  they  may  begin  to  hope  to  win 
victories  over  others. 

The  boss  system  which  lives  in  the  hearts  and  in  the  cus 
toms  of  New  Yorkers  must  be  destroyed.  The  great  initial 
victory  which  that  vote  records  is  a  prologue  to  the  downfall 
of  the  whole  accursed  thing. 

The  Low  campaign  has  drawn  together  the  men  in  whose 
hands  lies  the  future.  Let  them  not  disperse. 

We  took  this  advice.  November  iyth  we  appointed 
a  special  committee  of  seven  to  draft  a  plan  of  perma 
nent  organization.  Charles  S,  Fairchild,  who  had  been 
our  candidate  for  Comptroller,  was  the  chairman.  On 

372 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     373 

February  16,  1898,  it  reported  unanimously  in  favor  of 
continuing  the  Citizens'  Union  as  a  permanent  organiza 
tion.  It  provided  for  a  general  city  committee,  for  an 
association  in  each  Assembly  district  and  for  a  central 
committee  for  each  borough. 

We  kept  up  our  activity  during  the  administration  of 
Mayor  Van  Wyck.  We  took  active  part  in  the  election 
for  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  First  Department 
in  1898  and  1899,  and  in  the  election  for  Aldermen  in  the 
latter  year._ 

In  the  canvass  for  candidates  for  the  Supreme  Court 
we  had  the  active  assistance  of  the  New  York  City 
Bar  Association,  and  in  all  our  electoral  activities  we 
cooperated  with  the  City  Club.  We  had  also  the  cooper 
ation  of  the  Republican  County  Committee  in  New  York 
County. 

Meanwhile  Van  Wyck  and  his  associates  began  to 
make  things  easier  for  the  campaign  of  1901  by  the  revival 
of  the  practice  of  levying  tribute  on  illegal  resorts  and 
using  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  to  enrich  political  leaders 
and  maintain  the  party  organization.  Van  Wyck  had 
made  a  clean  sweep  of  the  heads  of  departments  appointed 
by  Mayor  Strong,  but  had  no  power  to  remove  the  acting 
Chief  of  Police,  which  office  was  then  filled  by  John 
McCullagh.  He  accomplished  this  removal,  however, 
by  removing  two  out  of  four  Police  Commissioners,  whom 
he  himself  had  appointed,  and  by  appointing  another, 
Jacob  Hess,  who  afterwards  testified  that  he  knew  before 
the  Mayor  appointed  him  that  he  was  to  vote  for  the 
removal  of  McCullagh  and  for  the  appointment  of  Devery. 


374       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Hess  kept  his  promise.  McCullagh  was  removed,  and 
Devery  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

Devery  had  been  dismissed  by  the  Police  Board  in 
1894,  but  unfortunately  the  Supreme  Court  felt  obliged 
to  reverse  the  dismissal  because  of  defective  procedure 
on  the  trial. 

With  Devery  in  office,  the  city  ran  wide  open.  Some 
of  the  worst  conditions  existed  in  the  Tenth  Ward  and 
were  brought  to  light  by  a  mission  that  the  Episcopal 
Church  had  established  at  No.  130  Stan  ton  Street.  Bishop 
Potter  went  there,  to  live  for  some  months,  and  made 
himself  familiar  with  the  neighborhood.  In  a  letter  to 
the  Mayor,  dated  November  15,  1900,  he  used  the  follow 
ing  language: 

SIR:  At  No.  130  Stanton  Street,  in  this  city,  there  is  a 
work  for  the  people  resident  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  mis 
sionary,  educational  and  social  character,  for  which  for  some 
years  I  have  been  directly  and  personally  responsible.  Its 
influence  for  good  order  and  good  morals,  to  describe  it  in 
no  other  way,  has  been  considerable,  and  has  been  recognized, 
I  think  I  may  venture  to  say,  by  those  who  know  it  as  of 
real  and  enduring  value.  It  is  not  only  a  center  for  the 
ministrations  of  religion,  but  also  for  training  in  various  arts 
and  handicrafts,  for  a  free  library,  gymnasium,  cooking, 
sewing  and  other  schools,  etc.,  etc.,  and  as  such,  for  those 
whose  lives  are  often  hard  and  narrow  and  whose  pleasures 
and  privileges  are  few,  it  has  been  recognized  as  an  important 
factor  in  promoting  the  good  order  of  the  communities  to 
which  it  ministers. 

The  missionary  referred  to  was  the  Rev.  Walter  Pad 
dock,  now  (1916)  Bishop  of  Eastern  Oregon.  He  found 
the  white-slave  trade  and  the  payment  by  the  keepers  of 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     375 

bawdy  houses  of  regular  tribute  for  protection  from  the 
police,  in  full  vogue  in  the  district.  Even  children  were 
called  in  to  aid  in  the  traffic  by  circulating  cards  of 
solicitation.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  details 
which  were  made  public. 

Mr.  Paddock  remonstrated  to  Captain  Herlihy,  who 
was  in  command  of  the  district  in  which  the  Mission  was 
situated,  and  was  treated  by  him  with  contempt.  To  use 
again  the  language  of  Bishop  Potter,  in  his  letter  to  Van 
Wyck: 

But  the  thing  that  is  of  consequence,  sir,  is  that  when  a 
minister  of  religion  and  a  resident  in  a  particular  neighborhood, 
whose  calling  and  character,  experience  and  truthfulness,  are 
alike  widely  and  abundantly  recognized,  goes  to  the  head 
quarters  of  the  police  in  his  district  to  appeal  to  them  for  the 
protection  of  the  young,  the  innocent  and  the  defenceless 
against  the  leprous  harpies  who  are  hired  as  runners  and 
touters  for  the  lowest  and  most  infamous  dens  of  vice,  he  is 
met,  not  only  with  contempt  and  derision,  but  with  the 
coarsest  insult  and  obloquy. 

I  affirm  that  such  a  virtual  safeguarding  of  vice  in  the  City 
of  New  York  is  a  burning  shame  to  any  decent  and  civilized 
community  and  an  intolerable  outrage  upon  those  whom  it 
especially  and  preeminently  concerns.  I  am  not,  I  beg  to 
say,  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  existence  of  vice  in  a  great 
city  is,  practically,  an  inevitable  condition  of  the  life  in  such  a 
community.  I  am  not  demanding  that  vice  shall  be  "stamped 
out"  by  the  police  or  any  other  civil  authority.  That  is  a 
task  which  would  demand  for  its  achievement  a  race  of  angels 
and  not  of  men. 

But  I  approach  you,  sir,  to  protest  with  all  my  power 
against  a  condition  of  things  in  which  vice  is  not  only  tolerated, 
but  shielded  and  encouraged  by  those  whose  sworn  duty  it  is 
to  repress  and  discourage  it,  and,  in  the  name  of  unsullied 


376       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

youth  and  innocence  of  young  girls  and  their  mothers,  who, 
though  living  under  conditions  often  of  privation  and  the  hard 
struggle  for  a  livelihood,  have  in  them  every  instinct  of  virtue 
and  purity  that  are  the  ornaments  of  any  so-called  gentle 
woman  in  the  land. 

This  letter  was  sent  by  the  Bishop  in  accordance  with 
the  vote  of  the  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  Diocese  of  New  York,  which  had  just  been  in  session, 
and  had  heard  the  Bishop's  report  of  the  shameful  condi 
tions  prevailing  in  the  Tenth  Ward.  I  was  a  member  of 
that  Convention,  and  can  never  forget  the  honest  and 
manly  indignation  which  this  report  aroused  in  that 
usually  sedate  assembly. 

The  Mayor  talked  well  when  this  letter  was  made  public. 
In  a  letter  to  the  Police  Board  he  declared: 

I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  to  this  end  I  shall  use 
to  the  utmost  limit  all  the  power  vested  in  me,  and  that  I 
shall  hold  to  personal  responsibility  those  who  fail  to  exert 
themselves  in  like  manner. 

President  York  was  obliged  to  admit  publicly  on 
November  I7th: 

There  is  no  use  mincing  matters.  If  places  are  running 
openly  on  the  East  Side,  or  on  any  side  of  this  city,  it  is  the 
fault  of  the  captain  of  the  precinct.  They  cannot  run  openly 
without  his  assistance.  ...  It  is  true,  as  you  say :  it  stands  to 
reason  when  a  vile  place  is  running  so  openly  day  after  day 
that  every  passer-by  knows  what  it  is,  and  can  go  in  without 
any  trouble,  that  the  captain  is  getting  some  consideration 
for  letting  this  thing  go  on. 

Meanwhile  the  public  indignation  had  been  aroused 
to  such  an  extent  that  a  meeting  of  prominent  citizens 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     377 

was  called  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  the  27th  of 
November,  1900.  Bishop  Potter  was  asked  to  attend 
this  meeting,  and  made  the  following  remarkable 
reply : 

No;  I  shall  not  be  able,  owing  to  a  trustee  meeting,  to  attend 
the  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to-day,  nor,  I 
think  I  ought  to  add,  should  I  do  so  if  I  were  free. 

The  aim  of  such  a  meeting  would  be,  primarily,  to  unify 
the  forces  on  the  side  of  the  law,  decency  and  the  protection 
of  the  weak  in  this  community.  But  in  such  an  effort  an 
ecclesiastic  is  not  the  best  instrument.  His  particular  affilia 
tions  make  him  distinctly  not  a  persona  grata  to  priests  and 
ministers  (and  sometimes  people)  of  other  communions,  with 
whom  the  odium  theologicum  is  still  a  very  active  sentiment. 
The  clergy  may  fitly  exercise  the  prophetic  office  of  rousing, 
warning,  entreating,  but  in  social  and  political  movements 
their  best  services  will  be  in  the  ranks,  where,  as  in  the  times 
of  stress  and  siege,  they  may  patrol,  mount  guard,  keep 
watch,  but  leave  to  others  the  task  of  generalship. 

As  to  this  in  the  present  emergency,  I  am  quite  clear.  New 
York  wants  a  strong  committee  of  three  or  five  trusted  laymen 
to  coordinate  forces,  sentiment,  purposes;  and  then,  if  we 
can  maintain  the  present  awakened  sense  of  danger,  the  rest 
will  almost  accomplish  itself. 

Charles  Stewart  Smith  was  the  chairman  of  the  meeting. 
George  Foster  Peabody  was  its  secretary.  Ex-Mayor 
Hewitt  was  called  upon.  He  referred  at  the  outset  to  a 
committee  of  investigation  that  had  been  appointed 
by  Tammany  Hall: 

The  incident  which  led  to  the  formation  of  a  committee 
commonly  called  the  Purity  Committee,  which  is  now  in 
vestigating  the  condition  of  the  city  on  the  Dart  of  Tammany 


378        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Hall,  was  either  called  by  what  the  Bishop  said  or  by  the 
intimation  that  he  was  going  to  take  action  in  consequence  of 
the  Diocesan  Convention.  At  any  rate,  when  the  head  of  Tam 
many  Hall  spoke  out  and  the  Committee  was  appointed,  it  was 
the  first  confession,  so  far  as  I  know,  which  came  from  the  gov 
erning  power  of  the  city  that  they  knew  there  was  anything 
wrong.  Everybody  else  was  aware  of  it.  But  two  years  ago 
reform  was  sent  to  hell  by  a  leading  official  of  the  Administra 
tion,  and  there  reform  seems  to  have  remained  for  two  years. 
Reform  has  been  undergoing  the  punishment  which  Tam 
many  Hall  thought  it  deserved.  If  reform  reappears  from 
the  purgatorial — to  use  a  very  mild  phrase — from  the  pur 
gatorial  conditions  to  which  it  was  assigned,  it  was  because 
the  head  of  Tammany  Hall  thought  it  was  time  to  let  up  a 
little  on  reform  and  bring  it  out  where  it  might  have  a  little 
relief  from  the  tortures  under  which  it  has  been  suffering. 

Both  Mayor  Hewitt  and  Col.  Joel  B.  Erhardt,  who  had 
been  a  Police  Commissioner,  spoke  of  the  evils  that  flowed 
from  the  bi-partisan  Police  Commission.  Dr.  Paddock 
declared  that  immediately  upon  the  publication  of  Bishop 
Potter's  letter  the  District  Tammany  Hall  leader,  Martin 
Engle,  the  Assemblyman,  Isidore  Cohen,  and  the  Senator, 
Timothy  D.  Sullivan,  offered  to  close  up  the  disreputable 
houses  in  the  district,  and  they  were  closed  within  twenty- 
four-hours.  But  he  added:  "It  is  needless  for  me  to 
say  that  in  a  very  few  days  it  was  opened  up  again." 

The  meeting  voted  that  a  committee  of  fifteen  be 
appointed  by  the  chair, 

the  duty  of  which  it  shall  be  to  cooperate  with  other  com 
mittees  or  organizations  in  their  discretion  having  kindred 
objects  in  view,  and  which  shall  carefully  watch  the  actions 
of  the  constituted  authorities,  whether  or  not  they  will  per- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     379 

form  to  their  full  extent  the  duty  imposed  upon  them  by  law, 
to  prevent  and  eradicate  vice  in  every  form. 

The  committee  accordingly  was  appointed.  James  C. 
Carter,  John  S.  Kennedy,  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  George  Foster 
Peabody,  William  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  and  the  Rev.  W.  L. 
Paddock  were  members  of  it. 

One  of  the  first  results  was  to  convince  the  Legislature 
that  the  bi-partisan  Police  Board  should  be  abolished. 
Gov.  Roosevelt  recommended  this  in  his  usual  forcible 
manner,  and  a  bill  was  passed,  which  he  signed  February 
2,  1901,  abolishing  the  Police  Board  and  the  office  of  Chief 
of  Police,  and  creating  a  single  Commissioner  of  Police. 
Thereupon  Michael  G.  Murphy  was  appointed  by  the 
Mayor,  and  he  had  the  effrontery,  after  all  that  had 
happened,  to  appoint  Devery  as  his  Deputy. 

Meanwhile  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  had  set  vigorously 
to  work.  William  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  was  appointed  its 
chairman.  Robert  Grier  Monroe  was  selected  as  its 
counsel.  Many  gambling  and  disorderly  houses  were 
closed.  In  a  new  poolroom  that  had  been  recently  opened 
at  No.  52  Broad  Street,  the  following  entry  was  discovered 
in  an  account  book,  "  First  payment,  $500." 

Then  came  the  case  of  Lena  Schmidt,  who  charged 
George  Bissert,  wardman  of  the  Fifth  Street  police  station, 
with  extorting  money  from  her.  She  had  paid  him  $500 
as  an  ''initiation  fee, "  and  was  to  pay  him  a  monthly  fee 
of  $50.  Bissert  pleaded  not  guilty  and  resorted  to  every 
device  to  avoid  a  trial.  He  was  convicted  on  the  first 
of  August,  in  spite  of  every  possible  move  that  could 


380       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

be  made.  His  counsel  fled  to  Fredonia,  in  Chautauqua 
County,  and  tried  to  get  a  certificate  of  reasonable  doubt 
from  Justice  Hooker,  but  the  Justice  refused  the  certificate, 
and  Bissert  went  to  jail.  Meanwhile,  Captain  Diamond, 
of  the  same  district,  was  indicted  for  wilful  neglect  of 
duty,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  greedy  Captains  were  coming 
to  justice. 

The  want  of  sympathy  that  Croker  and  Michael  G. 
Murphy  had  for  these  attempts  to  rid  the  city  of  its 
greatest  shame  was  shown  in  the  fact  that  when  Glennon, 
Shields  and  Dwyer,  of  the  infamous  Tenderloin  district, 
were  arrested  on  warrants  charging  them  with  wilful 
neglect  of  duty  and  were  indicted  on  August  22 d,  Mur 
phy  went  through  the  form  of  suspending  them  from  duty, 
but  Devery  remonstrated,  and  they  were  at  once  restored 
to  duty  and  pay. 

One  of  the  extraordinary  features  of  this  campaign 
was  a  raid  that  was  made  under  the  direction  of  Edward 
Sandford,  the  Assistant  District  Attorney,  upon  the 
"Webster  Hotel,"  as  it  was  called,  in  East  Fifteenth 
Street.  Police  Captain  Glennon,  who  was  an  active 
Tammany  politician,  was  found  in  the  back  room  of  the 
first  floor,  talking  in  a  friendly  manner  with  the  woman 
who  kept  the  place.  When  the  raiders  entered,  he  was 
naturally  surprised. 

Here  let  me  give  some  account  of  Richard  Croker, 
who  was  then  leader  of  Tammany  Hall.  Between  1881 
and  1901  he  had  become  a  conspicuous  figure  in  New  York 
City  politics.  He  was  a  man  of  humble  origin  and  came 
very  near  having  his  political  career  cut  short  in  conse- 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     381 

quence  of  an  indictment  for  murder.  He  took  part  in  an 
affray  in  which  a  man  was  killed.  Croker  was  accused  of 
the  murder  and  was  indicted  and  tried  for  the  alleged 
crime.  He  claimed  that  he  acted  in  self-defense.  The  jury 
disagreed. 

So  good  a  citizen  as  Abram  S.  Hewitt  was  convinced 
of  Croker's  innocence,  and  befriended  him  after  the 
trial.  Croker  showed  such  talent  for  organization  that 
he  gained  the  confidence  of  Tammany  Hall.  He  held 
numerous  offices  under  the  city,  including  the  responsible 
one  of  City  Chamberlain,  and  acquired  a  large  fortune. 
This  enabled  him  to  buy  what  his  adversaries  called  a 
castle  in  Ireland  and  a  stud  of  racing  horses,  which  some 
times  took  prizes  in  English  races.  These  sports  of  Mr. 
Croker  and  his  consequent  absence  in  Europe  were  the 
source  of  ridicule  from  his  political  adversaries.  In  spite 
of  them  all  he  retained  his  leadership  for  many  years. 

In  an  article  in  the  Atlantic,  February,  1902,  Edward 
M.  Shepard  gave  this  account  of  the  man  and  his  position : 

The  newspapers  estimated,  with  practical  genius,  the 
danger  of  scattering  fire,  and  the  advantage  of  a  specific 
target,  from  which  their  range  should  never  be  diverted, 
and  which  should  have  about  it  a  personal  and  familiar  pic- 
turesqueness  sure  to  hold  popular  attention.  This  they 
found  in  Richard  Croker,  the  leader  of  Tammany  Hall.  In 
cartoons,  and  in  the  virile  and  unweariedly  continuous  work 
of  reporters  and  editorial  writers  alike,  they  held  him  up  as  a 
heavy,  brutal,  dull,  insolent,  corrupt,  tyrannical,  reckless, 
unreasoning,  absentee  political  "boss."  What  measure  of 
justification  there  was  for  this  it  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this 
article  to  inquire. 

I  may  say,  however,  that  where  in  our  country,  with  our 


382        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

secret  ballot  and  free  and  constant  discussion,  one  man  holds 
for  half  a  generation  (not  for  the  five  or  six  years  of  a  Tweed, 
or  the  three  or  four  years'  popular  militarism  of  an  Alcibiades) 
the  effective  support  of  great  masses  of  citizens  of  an  in 
dustrial  and  highly  civilized  community  (including  for  shorter 
or  longer  periods,  men  of  all  grades  of  wealth,  intelligence 
and  public  spirit),  so  that  his  will  is,  or,  rather,  seems  to  be, 
theirs,  a  philosophic  observer  will  probably  believe  that  there 
are  at  least  some  errors  or  omissions  in  such  a  portraiture. 
If  not,  then  there  are  many  problems,  puzzling  indeed,  in  the 
history  of  Manhattan  Borough,  and  among  them  the  nomi 
nation  of  so  justly  distinguished  a  character  as  Abram  S. 
Hewitt  by  Tammany  Hall  under  the  Croker  leadership  in 
1886,  and  his  appointment  of  Mr.  Croker  to  important  office 
in  1887  after  many  years  political  acquaintance  between 
them. 


These  remarks  of  Mr.  Shepard  pointed  out  a  fact  that 
is  often  overlooked  by  New  York  reformers.  This  is 
that  Tammany  Hall  is  not  altogether  evil.  There  are 
many  men  in  it  of  ability  and  high  character.  There  is 
Morgan  J.  O'Brien,  for  many  years  Justice  of  the  New 
York  Supreme  Court,  and  Presiding  Justice  of  the  Appel 
late  Division.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  in  1901  to 
move  his  renomination  by  the  Citizens'  Union.  He  was 
re-elected  with  unanimity.  He  has  said  to  me  since  that 
he  thought  on  the  whole  a  citizen  could  accomplish  more 
good  in  the  organization  than  out  of  it.  Another  is 
Senator  0' Gorman,  a  City  College  man,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  clear-headed,  able  and  impartial  Judge. 

Their  relation  to  a  chief  like  Croker  reminds  me  of 
the  account  Macaulay  gives  of  the  relation  between 
William  Pitt  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  Pitt  used  to 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     383 

say  to  those  who  applied  to  him  for  patronage.  "His 
Majesty  is  graciously  pleased  to  consult  me  in  regard  to 
the  foreign  affairs  of  the  Kingdom,  but  when  it  comes 
to  pensions,  places,  and  getting  bills  through  Parliament, 
you  must  go  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle." 

The  only  personal  transaction  that  I  had  with  Croker 
was  early  in  1889.  The  White  Star  Line  was  about  to 
bring  out  the  steamship  Teutonic,  which  was  the  largest 
ship  then  afloat.  Her  length,  582  feet  over  all,  is  not 
considered  great  at  the  present  day.  Steamships  of 
over  900  feet  in  length  have  since  been  built.  At  that 
time  it  exceeded  by  about  forty  feet  the  length  of  the 
longest  White  Star  pier  in  the  'Hudson  River. 

I  was  counsel  for  the  Line  and  was  instructed  to  obtain 
the  legislation  necessary  to  authorize  the  Dock  Depart 
ment  of  New  York  City  to  lengthen  the  pier.  We  secured 
the  consent  of  the  authorities  at  Washington,  but  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  was  required,  because  the  pierhead  line 
had  been  fixed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  When  I  came  to  the  Bar  in  1861  the  method  of 
obtaining  such  legislation  would  have  been  to  draw  a  bill, 
get  a  friendly  member  to  introduce  it  and  have  a  hearing 
before  the  appropriate  committee. 

But  legislative  methods  had  changed.  It  had  become 
a  tradition  that  local  bills  must  have  the  support  of  local 
members.  Practically  in  1889,  no  New  York  City  legisla 
tion  could  be  passed  unless  it  had  the  support  of  the 
majority  of  the  New  York  delegation.  This  method  had 
advantages.  Under  the  previous  system,  local  bills  were 
sometimes  passed  which  were  obnoxious  to  the  locality 


384       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  which  they  were  to  apply.  On  the  other  hand,  this 
localizing  of  legislation  sometimes  enables  local  bills  to  go 
through  which  are  much  against  the  public  interest. 
Another  consequence  of  this  change  of  methods  is  that 
local  legislation  to  a  great  extent  is  directed  by  the  political 
leaders  in  the  locality,  and  does  not  receive  impartial 
consideration  from  the  Legislature. 

To  get  the  White  Star  bill  through,  it  was  important, 
if  not  essential,  to  enlist  the  support  of  the  Tammany 
leader  in  the  County  of  New  York.  Accordingly  I  called 
upon  Croker.  I  told  him  that  the  White  Star  Line  was 
about  to  bring  out  steamships  which  were  too  long  for 
their  piers ;  that  suitable  piers  were  offered  us  in  Hoboken, 
and  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  Line  to  take  its 
large  steamships  across  the  river  unless  the  piers  on  the 
New  York  side  could  be  lengthened. 

He  said  he  saw  'the  importance  of  the  change,  and 
would  advise  his  friends  in  the  Legislature  to  vote  for 
the  bill.  The  bill  was  introduced  and  was  passed. 
He  never  asked  of  me  any  return  of  any  sort  for  his  sup 
port  of  this  bill,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  he  never  asked  any 
return  from  the  Line.  I  think  I  should  have  known  it  if 
he  had  done  so. 

The  abuses  that  Croker  tolerated  or  encouraged 
during  Mayor  Van  Wyck's  administration  were  such 
that,  in  the  spring  of  1901,  we  who  were  working  in  the 
Citizens'  Union  began  to  feel  that  we  were  reasonably 
sure  of  success  in  the  coming  election  for  Mayor.  It 
was  obviously  impossible  that  Tammany  should  re- 
nominate  Van  Wyck. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     385 

In  many  respects  his  administration  showed  dis 
regard  for  law.  An  investigation  under  the  direction  of 
the  Charity  Organization  Society,  reported  December 
15,  1900,  showed  that  the  erection  of  tenement  houses  in 
violation  of  the  law  had  been  permitted.  They  did  not 
have  the  necessary  courtyard  space,  and  the  requirements 
for  light  and  ventilation  had  been  in  many  cases,  on 
application  of  political  favorites,  ignored. 

Meanwhile  the  Citizens'  Union  had  been  at  work, 
and  on  November  14,  1900,  it  issued  the  following  appeal: 

The  Citizens'  Union  has  been  for  the  last  year  actively 
preparing  for  the  campaign  of  1901  in  this  city.  It  has 
secured  reliable  district  organizations  in  a  large  number  of 
Assembly  districts,  and,  in  addition  to  its  enrolled  member 
ship,  believes  it  has  secured  the  interest  of  many  citizens 
who  have  been  personally  visited,  and  from  whom  it  expects 
active  cooperation  in  the  campaign. 

Under  its  new  constitution  the  Union  will  hold  a  convention 
of  delegates  of  district  organizations  in  the  month  of  April  of 
next  year.  This  convention  will  formulate  the  platform,  and 
it  is  empowered  to  appoint  a  committee  of  seventy  citizens 
to  take  entire  charge  of  the  campaign,  which  committee  will 
submit  to  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  convention,  to  be  held 
later  in  the  year,  a  list  of  candidates  for  the  offices  to  be  filled 
at  the  election  in  November.  In  making  nominations  the 
convention  will  not  be  confined  to  the  names  so  reported. 

The  Union  appreciates  the  importance  of  having  one  ticket 
in  the  field  upon  which  all  may  unite  who  demand  the  separa 
tion  of  municipal  from  State  and  national  politics,  and  a 
civic  administration  without  spoils,  favoritism  or  political 
tyranny.  With  this  end  in  view,  it  will  spare  no  efforts  to 
secure  active  cooperation  of  all  organizations,  societies  and 
individuals  qualified  to  render  effective  service. 

There  must  be  a  non-partisan  citizens'  ticket,  on  which  will 

85 


386       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

appear  only  the  names  of  men  "whose  character  and  reputa 
tion  are  such  as  to  assure  the  public  that  they  will  not  use 
their  offices  nor  permit  them  to  be  used  for  any  partisan 
purposes." 

The  Union  now  appeals  to  all  citizens  to  unite  with  it 
heartily  in  the  effort  to  accomplish  its  purpose.  If  they  will 
send  their  names  and  addresses  to  the  central  office,  they  will 
be  at  once  placed  in  communication  with  the  appropriate 
district  committees. 

At  the  end  of  this  appeal  was  the  following : 

We,  the  undersigned,  approve  the  policy  of  the  Citizens' 
Union  outlined  in  the  above  statement. 

This  was  signed  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  leading 
citizens  of  the  five  boroughs. 

This  appeal  received  the  general  approval  of  the  press. 
Our  organization  at  this  time  was  as  follows:  There 
was  a  city  committee  and  a  district  committee  in  each 
Assembly  district.  All  candidates  for  public  office  were 
to  be  nominated  by  convention.  Our  mayoralty  con 
vention  was  held  at  the  Cooper  Union.  It  was  a  large 
and  enthusiastic  body.  I  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  campaign  committee. 

It  was  desirable  that  a  Democrat  should  be  nominated 
for  the  office  of  mayor.  The  two  independent  candidates 
for  mayor  who  had  been  supported  within  the  last  twenty 
years,  Strong  and  Low,  were  both  Republicans.  Accord 
ingly  we  began  to  consider  what  leading  Democrat  would 
accept  our  nomination,  who,  at  the  same  time,  would  be 
worthy  of  public  support. 

The  man  to  whom  we  naturally  turned  was  Edward 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     387 

M.  Shepard.  He  had  been  an  independent  candidate 
for  Mayor  of  Brooklyn,  had  been  a  leader  in  the  In 
dependent  nomination  for  Governor  in  1898  and  was  a 
man  of  great  ability  and  of  the  highest  character.  It 
was  with  the  approval  of  some  of  my  associates  in  the 
City  Committee  of  the  Citizens'  Union  that  I  went  to  see 
him  in  his  beautiful  home  on  Lake  George  in  June,  1901, 
and  asked  him  if  he  would  let  me  present  his  name  as 
a  candidate  for  Mayor  at  the  coming  election.  He  told 
me  that  he  thought  the  action  of  the  Republican  party  in 
buying  the  Philippines  from  Spain,  in  acquiring  Porto 
Rico  and  in  establishing  a  government  in  Cuba  was 
fraught  with  danger  to  the  republic — that  it  seemed  to 
him  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  Democratic 
party  should  be  supported,  and  should,  if  possible,  be 
successful  at  the  Presidential  election  of  1904.  He  said 
that  as  a  means  to  this  end  it  was  important  to  keep  up 
the  Democratic  organization  in  Xew  York  City.  He 
condemned  as  strongly  as  any  one  the  shameful  practices 
that  had  been  revealed.  Therefore,  he  said,  he  could 
not  support  the  Tammany  ticket  for  Mayor,  and  it  was 
his  intention  to  go  to  Europe  and  be  absent  during  the 
campaign. 

I  urged  upon  him  that  he  was  the  logical  candidate 
of  the  Independent  voters;  that  he  would  have  the  confi 
dence  of  the  community  and  would  be  elected  by  a  large 
majority.  But  he  felt  obliged  to  refuse  the  nomination 
for  the  reasons  I  have  mentioned.  I  brought  back  the 
tidings  with  great  regret.  I  knew  Shepard  intimately 
and  had  known  him  ever  since  he  graduated  from  the 


388       VSIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

City  College  in  1868.  He  was  a  man  of  dauntless  courage 
and  of  absolute  devotion  to  his  sense  of  duty.  It  was 
unfortunate  that  his  convictions  led  him  to  the  decision 
which  I  have  mentioned. 

The  Citizens'  Union  Committee  appointed  at  the 
meeting  I  have  mentioned  called  into  conference  the 
following  bodies:  Republican  County  Committees  of 
New  York,  Kings,  Queens  and  Richmond  Counties; 
Greater  New  York  Democracy ;  Independent  Democracy ; 
City  Democracy;  German- American  Municipal  League 
of  Brooklyn;  German- American  League  of  Manhattan; 
German-American  Republican  County  Committee  of 
New  York;  German-American  Municipal  League  of 
Manhattan  and  the  German-American  Citizens'  League 
of  Brooklyn. 

These  organizations  sent  delegates  to  the  conference 
and  many  other  organizations  asked  to  be  admitted. 
The  task  of  selecting  the  organizations  who  should  be 
represented  was  difficult.  There  were  many  fake  or 
ganizations.  To  separate  the  sheep  from  the  goats  is 
often  difficult,  and  sometimes  impossible.  I  discovered 
afterwards  that  one  of  the  organizations  that  had  posed 
as  an  important  one  during  the  conference,  and  had  got 
a  representative  on  the  ticket,  was  composed  of  three 
persons  only.  Its  President,  after  the  election,  admitted 
this  to  me. 

Mr.  Shepard's  refusal  had  taken  his  name  out  of  the 
running,  and  accordingly  we  tried  to  select  another 
prominent  Democrat.  The  man  we  naturally  thought  of 
was  the  chairman,  R.  Fulton  Cutting.  He  would  have 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     389 

had  the  unanimous  nomination  had  he  been  willing  to 
accept  it,  but  he  declared  that  it  was  impossible  for  him, 
in  view  of  the  active  part  he  had  taken  in  the  organization 
of  the  Citizens'  Union,  to  accept  any  nomination  at  its 
hands.  He  added  modestly  that  he  thought  the  duties 
of  the  Mayor's  office  were  so  exacting  that  he  was  un 
willing  personally  to  undertake  them,  even  if  there  had 
been  no  other  objection. 

But  I  am  satisfied  we  could  have  secured  his  con 
sent  had  it  not  been  for  the  first  reason.  This  is  one 
that  is  often  given  by  men  who  have  been  active  in 
forming  independent  organizations.  It  seems  plausible 
at  first.  But  there  is  generally  no  person  so  competent 
to  administer  a  policy  as  the  man  who  has  been  prominent 
in  framing  it.  In  England  it  is  always  expected  that  the 
men  who  are  active  in  political  campaigns  will  go  into 
Parliament  and  assume  the  responsibility  for  the  results 
they  have  achieved. 

The  other  Democrats  whom  we  named  in  conference 
were  George  L.  Rives  and  John  DeWitt  Warner,  of 
Manhattan,  and  George  Foster  Peabody,  of  Brooklyn. 
The  objection  made  to  Peabody  was  that  he  was  a  banker 
and  was  not  sufficiently  well  known  to  the  whole  com 
munity  of  Greater  New  York.  Warner  was  objected  to 
by  the  Republicans  on  the  ground  of  some  speeches  in 
which  he  had  attacked  President  McKinley  and  the 
conduct  of  the  Spanish  War. 

I  pressed  the  claims  of  Mr.  Rives  with  ardor.  I  had 
great  respect  for  his  ability,  and  when  the  objection 
was  made  that  he  was  too  cold  and  stately  in  manner 


390       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

to  be  a  popular  candidate,  I  replied  that  the  same  objec 
tion  was  made  to  another  great  Virginian,  George  Wash 
ington.  However,  the  objection  prevailed,  and  there  was 
no  other  leading  Democrat  who  was  willing  to  become 
a  candidate  whose  name  was  much  discussed  in  the 
conference. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  many  Independents 
in  the  conference  who  thought  that  Mr.  Low  was  entitled 
to  the  nomination.  He  had  made  a  gallant  campaign  four 
years  previous.  He  was  well  known  to  the  whole  city. 
He  had  received  the  highest  commendation  at  that  time 
from  Edward  M.  Shepard  and  many  other  leading  Demo 
crats,  and  we  finally  agreed  upon  him  as  our  candidate 
for  Mayor. 

Then  came  the  question  as  to  who  should  be  nomi 
nated  for  Comptroller,  President  of  the  Board  of  Alder 
men  and  District  Attorney.  The  latter  office  was  felt 
to  be  one  of  great  importance. 

In  the  course  of  these  conferences  I  had  an  interview 
with  Herman  Ridder,  editor  of  the  Staats-Zeitung,  who 
gave  me  this  excellent  piece  of  advice,  which  I  record 
for  the  benefit  of  future  conferences. 

You  must  remember  [he  said],  that  the  people  of  this  city 
are  not  all  American  Protestants.  There  are  a  great  many 
Roman  Catholics,  a  great  many  Germans  and  a  great  many 
citizens  of  other  nationalities.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  the 
conferences  thus  far  you  have  forgotten  this  fact. 

The  advice  was  excellent  and  we  took  it.  We  deter 
mined  that  there  must  be  a  German  on  the  ticket,  and 
the  question  arose,  who  was  this  German  to  be?  We 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     391 

sought  advice  in  many  directions.  A  most  interesting 
interview  that  I  presently  had  was  with  Dr.  Moldenke. 
He  was  the  leading  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
this  city — perhaps  their  leader  in  the  whole  country. 
He  was  a  man  of  venerable  appearance,  with  long  white 
hair  and  kindly  eyes.  No  one  could  be  wiser  than  he 
appeared.  He  was  a  wise  and  judicious  man,  sincerely 
religious  and  without  a  tinge  of  bigotry.  He  made 
me  good  suggestions. 

Some  of  the  Germans  to  whom  we  applied  refused 
to  be  candidates.  Gustav  H.  Schwab  was  one  of  them. 
Our  sub-committee  finally  called  upon  Charles  V.  Fornes. 
He  was  born  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  of  German 
parentage,  became  a  teacher,  and  finally  principal  of  a 
school  in  Buffalo,  but  determined  to  come  to  New  York, 
where  he  became  a  successful  business  man,  and  the  head 
of  the  firm  of  C.  V.  Fornes  &  Co.  He  had  been  for  five 
successive  terms  President  of  the  Catholic  Club  and 
treasurer  of  the  Catholic  Protectory.  We  nominated 
him  for  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  It  was 
necessary  to  have  a  Brooklyn  man  on  the  ticket,  and  we 
pitched  upon  Edward  M.  Grout  for  Comptroller.  He 
had  been  in  partnership  with  William  J.  Gay  nor,  and 
had  taken  an  active  part  with  him  in  the  fight  against 
the  Long  Island  Water  Supply  Company  and  in  other 
notable  litigations,  and  was  an  able,  efficient  and  public- 
spirited  citizen.  He  also  was  a  Democrat. 

The  rule  which  had  been  adopted  in  the  Strong  cam 
paign  prevailed  in  1901.  It  was  agreed  by  all  that  if 
the  candidate  for  Mayor  was  a  Republican,  the  princi- 


392        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

pal  offices  on  the  rest  of  the  ticket  should  be  filled  by 
Democrats. 

For  District  Attorney  there  was  practically  only  one 
candidate  considered.  That  was  William  Travers  Jerome, 
who  had  been  efficient  as  a  Police  Magistrate,  and  was 
well  known  as  a  skilful  and  experienced  criminal  lawyer. 

And  then  came  a  great  surprise,  the  greatest,  I  think, 
that  I  ever  experienced  in  all  my  acquaintance  with 
politics.  Tammany  Hall  determined  to  put  forward 
for  Mayor  Edward  M.  Shepard.  In  an  article  in 
the  Atlantic,  in  February,  1902,  he  told  the  story  of  the 
considerations  that  led  him  to  decide  to  accept  the 
nomination : 

The  Brooklyn  Democrats  insisted  upon  a  candidate  quite 
unrelated  to  Tammany  Hall,  and  of  whom  it  would,  with  good 
reason,  be  believed  that  his  determination  was  to  reverse 
such  of  the  methods  of  the  city  government  as  were  under 
popular  condemnation,  and  to  undo  and  punish  past  wrong 
doing.  A  very  large  part  of  the  Tammany  constituency  in 
Manhattan,  and,  I  think,  most  of  its  leaders,  were  heartily 
in  sympathy  with  this  requirement;  and  at  the  last  it  was 
conceded. 

Shepard's  nomination  put  us  on  our  mettle.  We  had 
expected  that  Tammany  would  now  realize,  as  it  had  in 
1894,  that  it  had  no  chance  of  success,  and  would  put  up 
one  of  the  war  horses,  who  would  decorously  ride  before 
the  inevitable  defeat.  But  Edward  M.  Shepard  was  a 
different  proposition.  He  began  his  campaign  by  a 
vigorous  attack  upon  the  Citizens'  Union.  He  saw'  that 
his  only  hope  for  success  in  the  mayoralty  campaign 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     393 

was  to  convince  the  Independent  Democrats  that  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Low  was  dictated  by  the  Republicans 
and  that  the  Independent  Democrats  who  were  his  associ 
ates  on  the  ticket  were  unfit  persons. 

Perhaps  he  had  the  defect  not  uncommon  in  his  profes 
sion,  of  conceiving  the  facts  really  to  be  what  the  lawyer 
wishes  they  were.  No  one  who  knew  him  could  doubt  that 
he  made  his  attack  in  good  faith.  Nothing  in  my  whole 
political  life  gave  me  so  much  pain  as  to  come  into  conflict 
with  Shepard  on  a  question  of  this  sort.  We  were  warm 
personal  friends;  had  generally  agreed  in  politics;  had 
worked  together  in  many  causes  of  great  public  interest. 

He  accused  us  of  being  hoodwinked  by  the  Republicans. 
To  this  I  replied  that  the  experience  of  1897  had  con 
vinced  us  that  success  was  impossible  without  the  support 
of  the  Republican  organization;  that  we  had  conferred 
with  its  leaders  as  we  had  with  the  leaders  of  other  or 
ganizations,  and  had  done  our  utmost  to  unite  them 
all  in  the  common  cause.  I  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  Democrats  whom  we  had  suggested  had 
declined  to  be  candidates,  that  the  objections  to  others 
seemed  insuperable,  and  that  Mr.  Low's  character  and 
record  had  been  fully  discussed  in  1897,  had  met  with 
Mr.  Shepard's  own  approval  and  commendation,  and 
were  certainly  not  inferior  to  what  they  were  in  1901. 
All  the  discussions  between  the  representatives  of  the 
Republican  and  other  organizations  had  been  free  and 
open,  and  we  had  finally  come  to  the  conclusion  that, 
on  the  whole,  Mr.  Low  was  the  best  candidate  who  was 
willing  to  accept  the  nomination. 


394      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Shepard's  attack,  solidified  the  Citizens'  Union.  Only 
two  of  those  who  had  been  at  all  active  in  the  movement 
supported  him.  These  were  George  Foster  Peabody 
and  Albert  Stickney.  Mr.  Peabody  was  so  closely  as 
sociated  with  Mr.  Shepard  that  he  could  hardly  avoid 
doing  what  he  did. 

When  Tammany  Hall  nominated  Mr.  Shepard,  it  ex 
pected  to  carry  the  election  for  officers  of  the  County  of 
New  York.  My  belief  is  that  it  never  expected  to  elect 
Mr.  Shepard,  though  his  article  in  the  Atlantic,  before 
referred  to,  shows  that  he  entertained  a  different  opinion. 
What  leads  me  to  this  conclusion  is  the  shameful  nomi 
nation  Tammany  made  for  District  Attorney:  H.  W. 
linger.  He  was  the  man  who  became  counsel  for  the 
criminals  in  the  Tenth  Ward,  whose  shameful  acts  have 
been  related.  He  had  resorted  to  every  legal  contrivance 
to  postpone  the  trial  of  their  cases  until  after  the  election 
of  another  District  Attorney. 

Another  claim  of  the  City  Convention  which  nominated 
Mr.  Shepard  for  Mayor,  was  that  the  administration  of 
Van  Wyck  had  pushed  the  completion  of  the  subway 
with  "a  celerity  without  parallel."  The  fallacy  of  this 
pretense  we  were  able  to  expose. 

Croker  had  always  ridiculed  the  subway  and  called 
it  a  hole  in  the  ground.  No  bidders  were  found  for  the 
subway  franchise,  which  was  prepared  by  a  commission 
appointed  in  the  end  of  1890.  Practically  nothing  was 
done  by  the  administrations  either  of  Mayors  Grant  or 
Gilroy.  The  Rapid  Transit  Commission  appointed  at 
the  end  of  1894  took  up  the  matter  and  pressed  it  during 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     395 

the  administration  of  Mayor  Strong.  But  the  contract 
drawn  by  it  was  held  up  in  the  Corporation  Counsel's 
office  during  Mayor  Van  Wyck's  administration  from 
April,  1898,  to  October,  1899.  Whatever  celerity  there 
was  was  that  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Board. 

During  this  campaign  I  was  chairman  of  the  law  com 
mittee  of  the  Citizens'  Union.  I  went  to  see  McCullagh, 
who  was  the  State  Superintendent  of  Elections,  and 
together  we  set  on  foot  a  critical  examination  of  the 
registry  lists,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  persons  were 
illegally  registered,  and  if  possible  to  procure  orders 
from  the  Supreme  Court  striking  their  names  from  the 
list.  I  had  forms  of  affidavit  and  notices  of  motion  and 
orders  prepared,  and  hoped  that  we  might  get  information 
in  time  to  enable  us  to  move  under  the  Election  Law  and 
get  decisions  before  the  election.  We  found  that  the  per 
sons  registering  illegally  took  advantage  of  the  law  and 
registered  on  the  last  day  of  registration.  This  was  too 
late  to  give  the  notice  required  by  law  to  correct  the  lists. 

The  English  practice  of  having  the  registry  completed 
six  months  before  the  election  and  thus  giving  ample 
time  and  opportunity  to  the  revising  barrister  to  strike 
names  from  the  list,  is  far  more  conducive  to  honest 
elections  than  the  Election  Law  of  New  York.  Practically 
under  that  law  the  only  remedy  against  illegal  registration 
is  to  follow  up  the  persons  registering,  to  challenge  on 
election  day  illegal  voters  and  to  prosecute  them  after 
wards.  The  fear  of  this  does  deter  some  men  from  register 
ing  illegally.  But  it  would  be  more  rational  to  give  time 
to  have  the  lists  corrected. 


396      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  it  should  be  required 
that  a  man  should  live  in  the  voting  district  thirty  days 
before  the  election.  It  would  be  more  reasonable  to  give 
to  all  citizens  who  resided  in  that  district  six  months 
before  the  election  the  right  to  vote,  irrespective  of  any 
subsequent  change  of  residence.  Then  let  the  registra 
tion  days  be  fixed  in  the  spring,  make  them  sufficiently 
numerous  to  give  ample  opportunity  to  all  persons 
desiring  to  register,  and  provide  subsequent  ample 
opportunity  to  strike  names  from  the  list  unlawfully 
there. 

There  was  probably  never  a  local  election  in  New 
York  City  that  excited  more  active  interest  than  that  of 
1901.  Meetings  were  held  in  every  part  of  the  city.  I 
found  the  voters  in  Flushing  as  interested  as  they  were 
in  Manhattan.  Mr.  Low  spoke  briefly  at  most  of  our 
meetings,  but,  so  far  as  oratory  went,  Jerome  was  our 
winning  card.  He  spoke  with  "heat  and  fire  and  force, " 
with  the  vivid  picturesque  oratory  that  carried  his  auditors 
captive. 

When  the  vote  came  to  be  counted,  Low  was  ahead 
in  every  borough  except  Queens.  The  vicious  traditions 
of  Long  Island  City  were  too  strong  for  us  there.  The 
vote  in  the  four  boroughs  was  as  follows: 

Low    SHEPARD 

Manhattan  and  Bronx 162,298     156,631 

Brooklyn 114,625       88,858 

Queens 13,118       13,679 

Richmond 6,772         6,009 

Total., 296,813     265,177 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     397 

The  scattering  vote  was  insignificant.  The  fusion  was 
complete  and  successful. 

Then  came  the  consideration  of  the  appointments 
for  the  new  administration.  Here  it  seems  to  me  the 
Citizens'  Union  made  a  mistake.  It  had  been  the  moving 
spirit  of  the  whole  campaign.  Without  its  activity, 
success  would  have  been  impossible.  Yet  the  only  office 
to  which  we  asked  that  a  member  of  our  organization 
should  be  appointed  was  that  of  Chamberlain.  I  urged 
upon  my  associates  that  it  was  in  the  interest  of  the  city 
and  of  the  cause  we  advocated,  that  members  of  the 
Union  should  be  largely  represented  in  the  Cabinet  of 
the  Mayor.  But  they  were  apprehensive  that  we  should 
be  charged  with  having  fought  the  battle  for  the  sake 
of  office,  and  refrained  from  urging  the  appointment  of 
members  of  our  organization. 

I  had  hoped  myself  to  have  exercised  considerable 
influence  in  the  matter  of  appointments.  I  had  seen 
the  mistakes  which  Mayor  Strong  had  made  by  yielding 
too  ready  an  ear  to  some  of  the  political  organizations  that 
had  supported  him.  I  hoped  that  the  charge  of  being  a 
multi-partisan  administration  should  not  be  truly  brought 
against  that  of  Mayor  Low.  But  during  the  latter  part  of 
1901  I  found  myself  one  Saturday  afternoon  weary  and 
languid.  I  went  home  early,  lay  down,  and  was  un 
conscious  for  a  fortnight.  An  attack  of  typhoid  fever  had 
come  on  without  my  expecting  it,  and  that  good  health 
which  had  been  practically  unbroken  for  over  sixty  years 
finally  gave  way. 

Choate  used  to  say  that  I  was  tough  as  a  pine  knot, 


398      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

but  there  came  a  change  at  this  time.  When  I  came 
to  myself  in  the  middle  of  January,  I  was  too  weak  to 
talk  with  anybody  about  politics,  and  it  was  a  long  while 
before  I  even  knew  who  had  been  appointed.  It  was 
then  with  great  satisfaction  that  I  learned  that  the  Mayor 
had  appointed  George  L.  Rives,  as  Corporation  Counsel. 
He  seems  to  me  the  best  we  have  had  since  Judge  Lacombe 
filled  that  office. 

It  had  always  been  a  surprise  to  me  that  Tammany 
Mayors  should,  in  the  main,  not  have  been  sufficiently  solici 
tous  as  to  the  selection  for  this  important  office.  Even  an 
unfit  Mayor  should  seek  the  very  best  lawyer  he  can  find  to 
undertake  the  responsible  position  of  his  official  adviser. 
Theodore  Connolly,  who  was  Mr.  Rives'  first  assistant, 
and  James  McKeen,  who  was  Assistant  Corporation  Coun 
sel  for  Brooklyn,  were  both  men  of  first-rate  ability. 

The  elections  which  have  taken  place  since  1901  are 
too  recent  to  require  extended  comment.  Certainly  the 
two  successful  candidates  that  Tammany  Hall  put  for 
ward  during  this  period,  George  B.  McClellan,  in  1903 
and  1905,  and  William  J.  Gaynor  in  1909,  were  men  of 
greater  ability  and  higher  character  than  any  of  its 
nominees  since  Abram  S.  Hewitt.  Conditions  in  the  city 
government  are  far  better  than  they  were  prior  to  the 
campaign  of  1901.  Indeed,  Gaynor,  who  had  cooper 
ated  with  Shepard  in  the  prosecution  of  McKane 
for  the  election  frauds  in  King's  County  commanded 
the  public  confidence  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
elected  Mayor  although  his  companions  on  the  ticket 
were  defeated. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     399 

In  1913  the  Independents  for  the  first  time  in  forty 
years  combined  with  the  Republicans  to  nominate  a 
Democrat  for  Mayor,  John  Purroy  Mitchel.  He  was 
elected.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  book  to  give 
any  account  of  municipal  politics  since  1910,  so  I  forbear 
to  speak  of  his  administration.  But  it  may  truly  be 
said  of  all  the  administrations  since  that  of  Mayor  Low, 
that  they  have  not  relapsed  into  the  corruption  and 
inefficiency  which  marked  some  of  the  previous  adminis 
trations. 

A  remarkable  improvement  has  been  made  in  the 
prevention  of  disease.  The  death  rate  during  the  year 
1915  was  reduced  to  13  in  the  thousand,  just  half  what  it 
had  been  thirty  years  before.  Had  the  death  rate  con 
tinued  as  it  then  was,  there  would  have  been  91,000  more 
deaths  than  there  were  in  1915.  Leaflets  are  distributed 
in  twenty-six  different  languages,  teaching  how  to  prevent 
disease.  Gymnasia  and  physical  training  have  been  in 
troduced  into  the  high  schools  and  into  the  public  schools. 
The  gymnasium  in  the  City  College  is  one  of  the  best  in  the 
country.  There  are  roof  gardens  in  many  of  the  public 
and  high  schools,  and  numerous  recreation  piers.  _  Voca 
tional  training  and  training  in  housekeeping  for  girls  have 
been  introduced  into  the  schools. 

The  system  of  interurban  transit  has  been  greatly  ex 
tended.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  subway  are  now 
(1916)  building.  These,  with  the  three  new  bridges  across 
the  East  River,  have  enabled  many  thousands  of  people 
who  lived  in  congested  quarters  to  move  into  new  districts 
where  the  streets  are  wide,  where  there  are  parks  and 


400      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

playgrounds,  and  where  the  tenements  are  all  new  and 
built  upon  improved  and  more  sanitary  methods.  There 
have  been  introduced,  under  the  charge  of  the  City, 
many  milk  stations  where  pasteurized  milk  is  sold  at 
moderate  prices.  Great  attention  is  paid  in  the  public 
schools  to  child  hygiene.  There  are  even  dental  clinics, 
where  the  teeth  are  attended  to.  Private  enterprise 
led  the  way  in  all  these  great  improvements,  and  showed 
the  City  authorities  what  could  be  done,  and  they  have 
taken  it  up  on  a  great  scale. I 

The  great  improvement  that  we  have  made  in  munici 
pal  government  is  due,  in  the  first  place,  to  an  awakened 
sense  of  duty  and  public  spirit  among  the  voters,  and, 
next,  to  improved  methods  of  administration,  which 
have  increased  the  power  and  consequent  responsi 
bility  of  public  officials,  and  diminished  the  number  of 
elective  offices.  It  is  impossible  for  voters  to  select 
wisely  from  among  a  great  number  of  candidates  for 
many  offices.  They  can  select  from  among  the  candi 
dates  for  the  principal  offices  and  can  judge  if  the  officials 
whom  they  have  chosen  are  faithful.  The  political 
experience  of.  New  York  for  fifty  years,  has  shown  the 
falsity  of  the  phrase  that  ' '  the  cure  for  the  evils  of  dem- 

1  I  am  indebted  for  the  facts  of  which  I  have  given  a  summary  in  the 
two  previous  paragraphs,  to  George  McAneny.  He  was,  from  1894  t°  1902 
a  most  effective  Secretary  of  the  Nationaal  Civil  Service  Reform  League 
and  of  the  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform  Association.  In  1909  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  and  in  1913,  President  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  New  York.  This  office  makes  the 
incumbent  vice-Mayor.  In  1916  he  resigned  to  become  Executive  Mana- 
ager  of  the  New  York  Times.  He  was  efficient,  intelligent  and  incor 
ruptible  in  public  office  and  his  resignation  wasjjreatly  regretted. 


NEW  YORK  CITY  POLITICS,  1902-1915     401 

ocracy  is  more  democracy."  It  might  as  well  be  said 
that  the  cure  for  the  evils  of  whisky  is  more  whisky. 
The  quack  remedies  of  the  initiative  and  the  recall  have 
resulted  everywhere  in  America  in  making  the  disease 
worse.  They  diminish  the  independence  and  responsi 
bility  of  public  officials  and  prevent  the  most  com 
petent  men  from  accepting  public  station.  The  only 
way  to  cure  the  evils  of  democracy  is  to  cure  them. 
That  you  do  in  the  old-fashioned  American  way  of  holding 
public  officers  to  strict  accountability,  giving  them  power 
and  dismissing  them  at  the  end  of  their  terms  if  they  fail 
to  use  this  power  for  the  public  welfare. 

Let  me  summarize  the  lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the 
campaigns  which  I  have  described,  in  the  words  of  E.  L. 
Godkin  in  1895: 

The  reform  organizations  which  have  been  at  work  in  this 
city  owe  their  existence  to  the  general  perception  that  any 
reform  movement  in  this  city  to  be  really  successful  must 
be  permanent. 

It  is  to  this  policy  that  the  City  Club  and  the  Good  Govern 
ment  Clubs  (and  the  Citizens'  Union)  owe  their  existence. 
They  are  intended  to  supply  that  visible  sign  of  mutual  sym 
pathy  and  support  without  which  continuous  unity  of  action 
is  not  possible.  It  is  not  enough,  in  a  community  so  hetero 
geneous  as  this,  to  know  that  a  great  many  people  agree  with 
you  about  public  affairs.  It  is  desirable  to  have  a  place  and 
organization  which  supply  visible  proof  of  their  existence,  and 
in  which  information  about  them  can  be  obtained  and  means 
of  communication  with  them  be  furnished.  But  what  is 
wanted  above  all  else  is  the  means  of  assuring  the  great  multi 
tude  of  doubters,  that  is  of  the  people  who  despair  of  permanent 
municipal  reform,  that  the  fight  is  kept  up;  that  the  flag  is 
still  flying;  that  the  impetus  which  led  to  the  late  electoral 

26 


402      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

triumph  is  not  exhausted;  and  that  wrongdoers  are  at  last 
face  to  face  with  an  enemy  who  is  good  for  something  more 
than  a  frantic  rush.  .  .  . 

What  we  have  accomplished  in  New  York  is  likely  to  prove 
the  harbinger  of  a  great  change  for  the  better  in  all  the  great 
cities  of  the  continent,  and  will  end  in  wiping  out  what  has 
been  for  fifty  years  the  greatest  stain  on  democratic  govern 
ment — the  gross  corruption  of  our  municipalities.  It  will, 
too,  I  feel  very  confident,  make  plainer  and  stronger  than 
ever  the  connection  between  fitness  and  worthy  official  life; 
the  essential  dishonesty  of  incompetency  in  the  public  service. 
It  will  furnish,  too,  to  the  next  generation,  a  reminder  of  a 
great  deal  of  self-sacrificing  and  arduous  work  done  by  the 
young  men  of  this  generation  in  the  interest  of  public  peace, 
purity  and  security. 

Through  their  efforts  the  city  has  been  delivered  from  an 
odious  tyranny,  and  their  example  and  success,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  always  serve  to  convince  their  successors  that  a 
really  good  cause  is  never,  in  a  free  country,  either  lost  or 
hopeless. 


CHAPTER  XV 

LAW    REFORM 

MY  interest  in  law  reform  began  in  1872.  As  my 
practice  increased  I  began  to  realize  that  one  of  the  greatest 
evils  in  the  administration  of  justice  was  the  complexity 
of  procedure,  the  failure  to  decide  cases  upon  the  merits 
and  the  consequent  frequency  of  new  trials.  For  example : 
In  one  case  in  Virginia  a  negro  desperado  was  shot  while 
resisting  an  arrest.  He  then  confessed  that  he  had  been 
indicted  for  murder  and  had  been  tried  three  times.  On 
each  trial  some  error  was  committed  which  led  to  the 
granting  of  a  new  trial.  While  he  was  in  prison  awaiting 
the  fourth,  he  escaped.  In  1903  occurred  the  lynching 
of  a  murderer  who  had  been  found  guilty  by  a  jury  and 
had  twice  been  granted  a  new  trial  on  technical  grounds. 
After  the  third  conviction  the  multitude,  not  wishing  the 
murderer  loose,  took  the  law  into  their  own  hands. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  the  Code  of  Criminal  Pro 
cedure  provided : 

After  hearing  the  appeal  the  court  must  give  judgment 
without  regard  to  technical  errors  or  defects  or  to  exceptions 
which  do  not  affect  the  substantial  rights  of  the  parties. 

This  was  enacted  in  1881.  Unfortunately  the  same 
rule  was  not  applied  to  civil  cases,  and  appeals  in  civil 

403 


404      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

cases  were  still  decided  on  technical  grounds.  The 
Court  of  Appeals  of  New  York  in  1908  pointed  out  the 
incongruity  of  this  difference.1  That  court  had  before 
called  attention  to  the  defective  condition  of  the  practice. 
In  1904  it  said2: 

It  frequently  happens  that  cases  appear  and  reappear  in 
this  court  after  three  or  four  trials  where  the  plaintiff  on  every 
trial  has  changed  his  testimony  in  order  to  meet  the  varying 
fortunes  of  the  case  upon  appeal. 

I  felt  it  my  duty  to  respond  to  the  summons,  and 
in  several  magazine  articles  tried  to  arouse  the  profession 
to  the  duty  of  reform. 3 

The  evils  growing  out  of  these  defects  in  our  system 
of  appellate  jurisdiction  led  to  the  appointment  by  the 
American  Bar  Association,  in  August,  1907,  of  a  Special 
Committee  to  suggest  remedies  and  formulate  proposed 
laws  to  prevent  delays  and  unnecessary  cost  in  litigation. 
Mr.  F.  W.  Lehman,  afterwards  President  of  the  Associa 
tion  and  Solicitor  General  of  the  United  States,  was  chair 
man  of  this  committee.  Roscoe  Pound,  who  was  then 
Professor  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  is  now  Pro 
fessor  in  the  Harvard  Law  School,  was  one  of  its  members. 
Owing  to  his  illness,  the  task  of  drawing  the  first  report 
devolved  upon  me.  In  this,  presented  at  Seattle  in  1908, 
we  pointed  out  that  while  in  admiralty  and  equity  cases 

1  People  v.  Strollo,  191  N.  Y.  42.  The  reform  embodied  in  the  Act  of 
1 88 1  I  proposed  and  advocated  in  an  article  published  in  the  New  York 
World,  December  6,  1872. 

3  Walters  v.  Syracuse  Rapid  Transit  R.  Co.,  178  N.  Y.  50. 

3  Columbia  Law  Review,  May,  1904,  April,  1907;  Michigan  Law  Review, 
February,  May,  1905. 


LAW  REFORM  405 

the  federal  courts  took  up  the  whole  record  and  gave 
final  judgment  upon  the  merits  without  regard  to  technical 
errors,  the  tendency  of  the  same  court  sitting  at  common 
law  and  trying  jury  cases  was  to  consider  an  adherence  to 
strict  legal  rules  as  the  right  of  each  party  and  to  reverse 
if  there  had  been  any  infraction  of  these  rules.  This 
makes  the  trial  of  the  case  a  game  in  which  the  man 
wins  who  plays  it  most  skilfully. 

We  prepared  a  bill  to  amend  Section  ion  of  the  Re 
vised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  by  adding  at  the 
end  thereof  the  following : 

No  judgment  shall  be  set  aside,  or  new  trial  granted,  by 
any  court  of  the  United  States,  in  any  case,  civil  or  criminal, 
on  the  ground  of  misdirection  of  the  jury,  or  the  improper 
admission  or  rejection  of  evidence,  or  for  error  as  to  any 
matter  of  pleading  or  procedure,  unless,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
court  to  which  application  is  made,  after  an  examination  of  the 
entire  cause,  it  shall  affirmatively  appear  that  the  error  com 
plained  of  has  resulted  in  a  miscarriage  of  justice. 

We  also  provided  for  the  renewal  of  the  common  law 
practice  of  reserving  any  questions  of  law  arising  in 
the  case,  for  subsequent  argument  and  decision.  These 
bills  with  some  amendments  were  approved  by  the  Associa 
tion  in  1908  and  have  been  at  each  subsequent  meeting. 
The  bills  were  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Nelson, 
in  December,  1909,  and  in  the  House  by  Hon.  R.  Wayne 
Parker.  We  had  full  hearings  before  the  Judiciary 
Committees  of  both  Houses.  In  the  course  of  procedure 
at  Washington  the  bills  were  consolidated  into  one. 

Meanwhile,  the  report  of  the  commissioners  to  revise  the 


406      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

United  States  Statutes  had  been  referred  to  a  committee 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  known  as  the  Committee 
on  Revision  of  the  Laws,  of  which  Hon.  Reuben  O. 
Moon,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  Chairman.  A  meeting  was 
held  of  the  lawyers  of  New  York  who  practised  in  the 
federal  courts,  at  which  amendments  to  the  pending 
revision  were  suggested.  Those  recommended  by  the 
Bar  Association  were  included.  But  other  provisions 
of  the  revision  excited  so  much  attention  and  debate 
that  it  became  impossible  to  introduce  those  amend 
ments  into  the  revision.  Mr.  Madison,  of  Kansas,  had 
become  impressed  by  the  arguments  presented  by  the 
Committee  and  he  introduced  a  separate  bill  embodying 
the  two  sections  of  the  Association  bill.  This  passed 
the  House  unanimously  February  6,  1911,  but  all  efforts 
of  the  Committee  were  unsuccessful  to  get  the  bill  reported 
in  the  Senate. 

In  the  next  Congress  the  Democrats  had  a  majority. 
The  bills  were  again  introduced  in  the  House  by  Hon. 
Henry  D.  Clayton,  the  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Com 
mittee,  and  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Root. 

Beside  the  measures  thus  far  referred  to,  the  Com 
mittee  drafted  a  bill  by  which  the  federal  courts  were 
authorized  to  transfer  any  suit  commenced  at  law  to  the 
equity  side  of  the  court,  and  any  suit  commenced  in  equity 
to  the  law  side  of  the  court.  This  measure  President 
Taft  favored  and  in  an  interview  which  we  had  with  him 
at  the  White  House,  he  discussed  it  with  us.  He  recom 
mended  all  our  bills  in  several  messages  to  Congress. 

Meanwhile  another  serious  question  had  arisen.      The 


LAW  REFORM  407 

New  York  Court  of  Appeals  had  rendered  a  decision  in 
the  case  of  Ives  v.  the  South  Buffalo  Railway  Company1 
that  the  labor  law  which  had  been  passed  in  New  York 
in  1910  in  relation  to  workmen's  compensation  in  certain 
dangerous  employments  was  void,  under  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  federal  Constitution,  because  it  would 
deprive  persons  of  property  without  due  process  of  law. 
Decisions  to  the  contrary  had  been  made  by  the  Supreme 
Courts  of  other  states.  These  decisions  produced  the 
distressing  condition  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  meant  one  thing  in  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey 
and  Washington,  and  another  thing  in  New  York.  Ac 
cordingly  the  Committee  recommended,  the  Bar  As 
sociation  approved,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Congress 
to  give  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  jurisdic 
tion  to  review  final  decisions  of  the  highest  court  of  any 
State  upon  questions  arising  under  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  whether  the  decision  of  the  State 
court  sustained  the  objection  to  the  State  law  or  over 
ruled  it.  In  the  latter  case,  since  1790,  there  had  been  a 
right  of  review,  but  none  had  been  given  in  the  former 
case. 

This  bill  finally  became  a  law  December  23,  1914. 
The  law  and  equity  bill  became  a  law  March  3,  1915. 
The  reformed  procedure  bill  passed  the  House  in  1912 
and  again  1915,  and  is  now  (1916)  pending  in  the  Senate.2 

The    discussions    in    the   American    Bar   Association, 

X2OI  N.  Y.  271  (1911). 

a  The  reform  thus  proposed  was  recommended  in  the  national  platforms 
of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  in  1912,  more  specifically  in  the 
former.  World  Almanac,  1916,  pp.  776-777. 


4o8      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

the  reports  of  the  Committee,  which  have  been  widely 
circulated  and  extensively  noticed  in  the  public  press,  and 
the  activity  of  local  Bar  Associations  have  led  to  the 
adoption  in  many  of  the  States,  of  the  reforms  to  which 
I  have  referred.  Before  we  commenced  our  good  work 
they  were  adopted  in  New  Hampshire  by  the  action  of 
the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Samuel  C.  Eastman, 
who  was  at  one  time  Attorney-General  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Committee  to- 
which  I  have  referred  (and  who  was  in  the  same  class  as 
myself  in  the  Harvard  Law  School)  took  an  active  part 
in  this  reform  in  New  Hampshire  and  in  advocating  it  in 
other  States.  It  has,  in  point  of  fact,  been  adopted 
either  by  courts  or  legislatures,  in  Alabama,  Arizona, 
California,  Florida,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Kentucky,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Montana, 
Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
Mexico,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Pennsylvania, 
Texas,  Wisconsin,  Wyoming  and  Alaska. 

The  difference  between  the  powers  of  the  federal  and 
State  appellate  courts  in  New  York  prior  to  September  i, 
1912,  when  the  amendment  to  the  New  York  Code  took 
effect,  extending  the  power  of  the  Appellate  Court,  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  decision  in  a  case  of  great  public 
importance : 

The  State  of  New  York  made  a  law  that  the  maximum 
price  for  gas  in  the  City  of  New  York  should  be  eighty- 
five  cents  per  thousand  feet.  An  action  was  brought  in 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  to  enjoin  the  enforcement 
of  this  law  on  the  ground  that  it  was  confiscatory.  Judge 


LAW  REFORM^  409 

Lacombe  decided  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  this  rate  would 
not  enable  the  gas  company  to  earn  a  reasonable  return 
on  its  invested  capital.  He,  therefore,  granted  the  relief 
asked.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  on 
appeal,  reviewed  this  decision  on  the  facts,  reversed  it, 
and  sustained  the  constitutionality  of  the  law.1  This 
judgment  affected  the  welfare  of  over  five  million  people. 
Experience  since  the  decision  shows  that  the  rate  was  not 
confiscatory.  How  unjust  it  would  have  been  to  make 
the  decision  of  one  man  final  on  such  a  point.  Yet,  this 
is  what  the  State  practice  in  New  York  would  have  done, 
prior  to  the  amendment  before  quoted,  if  the  suit  had 
been  brought  in  the  State  court. 

Another  important  reform  which  has  been  recom 
mended  by  the  Committee  and  the  clear  statement  of 
which  in  the  Report  of  1910,  and  again  in  1911,  we 
owe  to  Professor  Pound,  may  thus  be  stated  in  his  own 
language: 

A  Practice  Act  should  deal  only  with  the  general  features 
of  procedure  and  prescribe  the  general  lines  to  be  followed, 
leaving  details  to  be  fixed  by  Rules  of  Court,  which  the  courts 
may  change  from  time  to  time  as  actual  experience  of  their 
application  and  operation  dictates. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  admirable  statement 
of  the  principles  of  practice  reform  than  these  of  Professor 
Pound  in  the  reports  referred  to.  The  Practice  Act  and 
the  accompanying  rules  of  practice  adopted  by  the  State 
of  New  Jersey  in  1911  embody  these  principles. 

1  City  of  New  York  v.  Consolidated  Gas  Co.,  212  U.  S.  19. 


410      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  work  of  law  reform  in  the  federal  courts  has  been 
taken  up  by  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Shelton  of  Norfolk,  Virginia. 
He  has  urged  upon  Congress  the  enactment  of  a  bill 
giving  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  the 
same  power  to  make  rules  of  practice  in  common  law 
cases  that  it  now  has  in  equity  cases.  A  bill  for  this 
purpose  has  been  approved  by  the  American  Bar  As 
sociation.  Meanwhile  the  Supreme  Court  has  itself 
revised  rules  of  practice  in  equity  and  has  embodied  in 
these  rules  the  reforms  which  were  recommended  by 
the  American  Bar  Association,  so  far  as  the  court  had 
power  to  incorporate  them.  x 

One  of  the  wisest  and  most  effective  members  of  the 
Committee  has  been  Professor  Frank  Irvine,  formerly  of 
Cornell  Law  School,  now  Public  Service  Commissioner  in 
New  York.  At  his  request  I  delivered  two  lectures  on 
Reformed  Legal  Procedure  before  that  school  in  June, 
1912. 2 

I  find  in  this  review  of  the  work  of  the  Bar  Associations 
great  room  for  encouragement.  The  statement  is  often 
made  that  lawyers  do  not  favor  law  reform  because  they 
think  it  would  diminish  their  fees.  This  review  shows 
that  such  statements  are  erroneous.  The  Bar  Associa 
tion  of  the  United  States  and  many  of  the  States,  especially 
of  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Massachu 
setts,  Illinois  and  Kansas,  and  the  Bar  Association  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  have  cordially  supported  the  bills 

1  They  were  promulgated  November  4,  1912. 

3  These  were  subsequently  published — American  Law  Review,  January- 
February,  1913. 


LAW  REFORM  411 

which  have  been  referred  to.  We  have  encountered 
in  carrying  these  reforms  into  effect  much  less  opposition 
in  the  State  Legislatures  than  in  Congress.  I  attribute 
this  largely  to  the  fact  that  many  questions  of  great 
national  importance  come  before  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  that  members  are  elected  by  one  party 
or  the  other  with  reference  to  these  questions  and  that 
the  time  and  thought  of  Congress  are  so  much  absorbed 
by  them- that  bills  for  law  reform  fail  to  attract  suitable 
consideration. 

In  this  chapter  I  have  dealt  with  reforms  in  legal 
procedure  which  enable  controversies  to  be  decided 
speedily  upon  the  merits.  To  deal  with  the  development 
of  general  jurisprudence  would  require  a  separate  volume. 
I  consider  procedure  important  because  law  without 
means  of  enforcement  is  ineffective. 

A  striking  instance  is  to  be  found  in  the  present  war  in 
Europe.  It  was  not  the  lack  of  treaties  between  nations, 
or  of  an  international  court  of  arbitration,  that  brought 
on  that  war.  It  was  the  lack  of  sanction.  No  means 
had  been  provided  for  compelling  nations  to  keep  the 
agreements  that  they  had  made.  The  sense  of  this  is 
rapidly  developing  among  civilized  nations.  It  has 
found  expression  in  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  which 
is  beginning  to  have  affiliated  societies  in  many  countries. 
The  English  Premier,  Mr.  Asquith,  expressed  himself,  in 
April,  1916,  distinctly  on  this  subject,  and  there  have 
been  utterances  to  the  same  effect  even  in  the  German 
Reichstag. 

Tiie  Bar  Association  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  en- 


412      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

titled  to  the  credit  of  formulating  a  distinct  proposal  on 
this  subject  in  January,  1915,  and  of  repeating  it  in 
January,  1916.  That  body  has  an  honorable  record  on  the 
subject  of  international  arbitration.  It  was  one  of  the 
first  organizations  to  propose  an  international  court.  Its 
memorial  to  the  President  on  that  subject  led  to  the 
instructions  given  to  the  first  delegation  from  the  United 
States  at  the  first  Hague  Convention.  The  first  cause 
ever  submitted  to  The  Hague  tribunal  was  submitted  at 
the  instance  of  the  United  States.  The  proposition 
of  the  Committee,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Association, 
was  that  the  United  States  should  urge,  at  any  congress 
to  be  held  at  the  conclusion  of  the  present  war  in  Europe, 
that  the  nations  parties  to  it  should  agree  to  limit  their 
armaments  to  an  organization  sufficient  to  protect  order 
within  their  own  borders  and  to  furnish  a  contingent  to 
the  international  police,  and  that  there  should  be  an 
international  tribunal  with  power  to  prevent  nations  from 
violating  treaties,  with  an  international  police  subject  to 
its  orders,  which  should  enforce  its  decrees,  and  with  power 
also  to  prevent  nations  from  going  to  war  until  the  matters 
in  dispute  between  them  should  be  submitted  to  the 
tribunal. 

Of  this  Committee  I  had  the  honor  to  be  chairman. 
Its  recommendations  were  adopted  by  the  Association. 
My  associates  on  the  Committee  were:  Francis  Lynde 
Stetson,  Adelbert  Moot,  Charles  Henry  Butler  and  Jere 
miah  Keck.  May  we  all  live  to  see  our  recommendations 
adopted  by  an  international  congress. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 
CLEVELAND,    McKINLEY,    ROOSEVELT 


I  FIRST  met  Mr.  Cleveland  in  1884,  during  his  term  as 
Governor.  The  water  supply  of  the  City  of  New  York 
was  becoming  insufficient.  The  city  had  been  compelled 
to  diminish  the  pressure  on  the  high  levels.  The  water 
did  not,  during  the  day,  rise  above  the  first  story  in  many 
parts  of  the  city,  and  house-owners  put  tanks  in  their 
upper  stories  (as  they  do  in  London  and  other  foreign 
cities)  to  which  the  water  might  rise  during  the  night. 
Often,  too,  a  small  engine  in  the  cellar  pumped  water  into 
this  tank. 

The  existing  aqueduct  was  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity, 
and  indeed  was  filled  with  water  above  the  spring  of  the 
arch,  which  had  never  been  intended  and  was  unsafe.  A 
bill  was  drawn  providing  for  the  appointment  of  com 
missioners  under  whose  direction  new  reservoirs  should 
be  constructed  in  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson  and  a  new 
aqueduct  constructed  from  these  to  the  City  of  New 
York.  I  was  then  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 

413 


414      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

of  the  New  York  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  and 
we  urged  upon  the  Legislature  the  importance  of  requiring 
that  all  persons  to  be  employed  in  the  construction  of  the 
new  aqueduct  should  undergo  suitable  examinations, 
and  that  the  appointments  should  be  given  to  the  most  fit. 

We  did  succeed  in  procuring  the  insertion  in  the  bill 
of  certain  requirements  regulating  appointments.  These, 
however,  were  inadequate,  and  we  were  confronted  with 
the  question  whether  to  oppose  the  bill  altogether  on  the 
ground  of  this  omission  or  to  acquiesce  in  the  result.  The 
commissioners  who  were  named  in  the  bill  were  competent 
and  trustworthy  and  this  gave  some  ground  of  assurance 
in  regard  to  the  appointments  which  they  were  likely  to 
make.  We  concluded  that  the  public  need  was  such 
that  there  should  be  no  longer  delay  in  the  construction 
of  the  aqueduct.  The  demand  for  water  had  become  so 
great  that  the  amount  stored  in  the  reservoirs  was  small. 
The  suffering  that  would  result  from  a  break  was  too 
serious  to  contemplate. 

Provision  would  have  been  made  several  years  before 
for  the  construction  of  a  new  aqueduct,  but  for  political 
reasons.  The  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  Hubert  O.  Thompson,  was  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  County  Democracy.  The  other  Democratic  fac 
tion  opposed  any  bill  which  would  put  the  patronage 
incidental  to  the  new  aqueduct  into  Mr.  Thompson's 
hands.  The  Republican  organization  was  equally  opposed 
to  putting  it  into  the  hands  of  any  Democrat.  The  final 
result  was  a  compromise  in  the  selection  of  Commissioners. 
The  bill  required  that  no  person  should  be  appointed  as 


PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN  415 

inspector  or  superintendent  who  should  not  be  certified 
by  three  of  the  commissioners  to  be  competent  for  the 
duties  of  the  position,  and  experienced  in  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  employment. 

In  May,  1884,  the  bill  passed  the  Legislature,  and  was 
presented  to  the  Governor.  It  was  bitterly  opposed  by 
some  of  the  reformers,  partly  on  the  ground  that  sufficient 
provision  was  not  made  for  appointments  according  to  the 
merit  system,  and  partly  on  the  ground  that  methods  could 
be  devised  by  which  waste  would  be  checked  and  the 
existing  supply  become  sufficient.  Mr.  Cleveland  gave 
us  a  full  and  patient  hearing.  He  asked  many  questions 
of  the  advocates  of  both  sides  and  afterwards  in  his 
methodical  and  thorough  manner  considered  the  facts  of 
the  case,  examined  the  arguments  which  were  presented, 
and  decided  to  sign  the  bill.  It  was  none  too  soon.  The 
new  aqueduct  was  not  completed  till  1890,  when  it  had  a 
capacity  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  million  gallons  a 
day. 

During  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1884,  I  met  Mr. 
Cleveland  occasionally.  He  bore  with  equanimity  the 
bitter  assaults  that  were  made  upon  him  and  continued 
to  discharge  his  duties  as  Governor  as  faithfully  as  if  he 
were  not  a  candidate.  About  the  end  of  that  year,  he 
resigned  his  position  as  Governor  and  yielded  the  reins 
of  office  to  the  Lieutenant-Go vernor,  David  B.  Hill. 
Never  did  he  show  the  slightest  indication  of  an  endeavor 
to  build  up  an  organization  in  the  State  which  would 
support  him  as  President,  but  went  forward  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties  with  directness  and  simplicity. 


416      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

When  next  I  met  him  in  Washington,  I  had  to  present 
an  application  for  a  pardon.  This  was  made  under 
singular  circumstances.  A  director  of  the  Assay  Office 
in  one  of  the  territories  was  about  to  leave  his  office  to  go 
East  to  obtain  bondsmen  for  a  second  term.  The  bullion 
in  the  Assay  Office  was  counted  by  him  and  by  his  deputy, 
and  was  left  in  the  deputy's  charge.  The  director  went 
East,  obtained  a  new  bond  and  on  his  return  to  resume 
office  under  his  new  appointment  a  new  count  was  made. 
The  amount  of  bullion  then  in  the  office  was  not  what  it 
had  been  at  the  time  of  the  last  count.  The  deputy 
declared  that  he  had  not  touched  it  and  by  indirection 
accused  his  chief  of  embezzlement.  A  zealous  District 
Attorney  knew  Mr.  Cleveland's  reputation,  procured 
an  indictment,  and  prosecuted  the  director.  He  was 
convicted  upon  the  unsupported  testimony  of  the  deputy. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  had  no  authority  to 
review  upon  the  facts.  No  error  of  law  had  been  com 
mitted  upon  the  trial  and  the  only  remedy  of  the  accused 
was  by  application  for  a  pardon. 

I  examined  the  record  carefully  and  all  the  attendant 
circumstances,  and  became  convinced  that  the  defendant 
was  innocent,  and  that  the  embezzlement  had  really  been 
committed  by  the  deputy.  I  was  able  to  show  that  there 
was  no  indication  of  any  increased  ownership  of  property, 
that  the  accused  director  had  come  East  and  gone  about 
with  perfect  freedom,  had  lived  with  his  family  in  the 
manner  he  always  had  done,  and  returned  with  boldness 
to  resume  his  position  in  the  office.  All  these  facts  I 
presented  to  Mr.  Cleveland. 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  417 

I  was  told  that  in  previous  administrations  the  matter 
of  pardons  was  referred  to  and  controlled  by  the  Attorney- 
General's  office.  But  when  I  afterwards  came  to  examine 
the  record  I  found  that  it  had  received  Mr.  Cleveland's 
personal  attention.  Notes  in  his  delicate  hand- writing 
were  frequent  upon  the  pages.  He  doubted  sometimes 
as  to  the  justice  of  the  case,  but  finally  granted  the  pardon. 

He  had  grown  up  at  a  time  when  there  were  no  steno 
graphers  and  typewriters  and  found  it  difficult  to  conform 
to  the  new  methods  of  doing  business.  Perhaps  no  presi 
dent  in  our  time  ever  devoted  so  many  hours  to  the 
business  of  the  office  or  gave  so  much  personal  attention 
to  its  details. 

Mr.  Rives,  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  for  example, 
told  me  that  there  was  a  question  of  boundary  between 
two  Central  American  States,  which  had  been  submitted 
to  Mr.  Cleveland  for  arbitration.  The  matter  was  re 
ferred  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and  came  before  the 
assistant  for  examination.  He  made  a  report  and  sup 
posed  that  in  accordance  with  previous  precedents,  it 
would  simply  receive  the  signature  of  the  President  without 
further  examination.  But  Mr.  Cleveland  took  up  the 
whole  subject  de  now  and  examined  it  thoroughly.  He 
came  to  the  same  conclusion  that  the  assistant  had,  but 
gave  it  as  much  investigation  as  if  the  whole  responsibility 
rested  upon  himself. 

A  more  courageous,  more  single-minded  President, 
I  think  we  never  had.  He  was  not  himself  influenced  by 
personal  considerations,  and  found  it  hard  to  believe  that 
other  men  would  be.  Hence,  he  failed  in  many  of  those 


27 


418      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

little  attentions  which  do  influence  men  and  make  the  path 
of  the  President  easier. 

One  particular  instance  I  remember.  There  was  a 
New  York  man,  who  had  been  a  warm  supporter  of  Mr. 
Cleveland.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reform  Club  and 
contributed  liberally  to  our  treasury.  He  did  not  want 
any  office,  but  when  he  went  to  Washington  he  did  think 
that  the  President  ought  to  pay  him  a  little  personal 
attention.  He  rather  expected  a  card  of  invitation  to  the 
White  House,  or  something  of  that  sort.  Mr.  Cleveland 
knew  he  was  there,  but  there  was  no  particular  reason  in 
his  mind  why  this  gentleman  should  be  invited.  He  had 
no  business  with  him,  and  the  thought  that  it  would  be 
agreeable  to  a  personal  supporter  to  receive  some  personal 
attention  never  occurred  to  him.  My  friend  came  back 
from  Washington  disgruntled,  and  we  never  got  a  dollar 
from  him  afterwards. 

In  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  Mr.  Cleveland's 
marriage  added  not  only  to  his  happiness,  but  to  his 
success  as  a  public  man.  His  wife  had  infinite  tact  and 
unusual  charm.  The  social  side  of  the  White  House  under 
her  management  became  most  attractive.  A  man  more 
happy  in  his  family  relations  and  a  more  devoted  husband 
and  father,  I  think  I  never  knew.  And  yet  the  bitterness 
with  which  our  Democratic  President  was  assailed  by  his 
political  enemies,  led  to  the  circulation  of  many  falsehoods 
on  this  subject,  which  some  foolish  and  credulous  people 
believed. 

One  innovation  that  Mr.  Cleveland  introduced  into  the 
executive  business  has  not  been  followed  by  his  successors. 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  419 

He  was  unwilling  on  the  last  night  of  a  session  to  go  up 
to  the  Capitol  and  sign  bills  there.  He  required  that 
legislation  should  be  submitted  to  him  at  the  White 
House,  and  that  time  should  be  given  him  for  its  exami 
nation.  On  the  other  hand,  he  never  spared  himself  any 
labor  necessary  to  this  end.  He  was  at  his  office  early  in 
the  morning,  and  remained  until  late  at  night.  I  once 
called  upon  him  by  appointment,  in  February,  1899,  at 
about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  was  hard  at 
work,  with  a  great  mass  of  papers  upon  his  table,  and  was 
devoting  himself  to  their  examination  as  carefully  as  a 
lawyer  would  to  the  examination  of  the  papers  necessary 
to  prepare  for  an  important  trial. 

After  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  he  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Bangs,  Stetson,  Tracy  &  MacVeagh,  whose 
offices  were  then  at  45  William  Street,  New  York  City. 
Francis  N.  Bangs  had  been  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm 
at  the  time  when  its  name  was  Bangs  &  Stetson.  When 
he  died  Mr.  Stetson  became  the  senior  partner,  but  Mr. 
Bangs'  son,  Charles  W.  Bangs,  continued  a  member  and 
Mr.  Bangs'  name  retained  its  precedence.  When  Mr. 
Cleveland  became  a  member  of  the  firm,  his  name  was 
printed  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  partners.  He  did  his 
part  in  the  counsel  business  of  the  firm,  and  argued  at 
least  one  important  cause  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  Peake  v.  New  Orleans, x  where  he  was 
opposed  by  Mr.  Carleton  Hunt,  and  had  associated  with 
him  Mr.  Richard  D.  Gray  and  Mr.  Thomas  J.  Semmes. 
This  case  was  argued  on  the  twenty-seventh,  twenty- 

1  139  U.  S.  342,  decided  March  9,  1891. 


420      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

eighth  and  twenty-ninth  days  of  October,  1890.  When 
the  hour  of  adjournment,  which  was  then  four  o'clock, 
arrived,  Mr.  Cleveland  had  nearly  completed  his  argument, 
and  the  Chief  Justice  continued  the  session  of  the 
court  beyond  the  usual  time  in  order  to  enable  Mr. 
Cleveland  to  complete  it  that  day.  This  is  a  compliment 
that,  so  far  as  tradition  goes,  has  never  been  paid  to  any 
one  else.  Probably  he  and  John  Quincy  Adams  are  the 
only  ex-Presidents  who  ever  argued  a  cause  before  that 
august  tribunal. 

During  his  second  administration  he  had  to  deal  with 
many  difficult  situations.  His  treatment  of  the  railroad 
strike  of  1894  was  characteristic.  He  was  ably  seconded 
by  his  Attorney-General,  Richard  Olney,  who  was  as 
resolute  as  his  chief. 

The  town  of  Pullman  was  a  suburb  of  Chicago.  It 
was  planned  by  the  head  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Com 
pany  ;  comfortable  houses  were  built  for  the  workmen,  the 
drainage  and  all  sanitary  conveniences  were  as  perfect  as 
skill  could  make  them;  a  great  pumping  engine  sucked 
the  air  from  the  houses  through  the  drain  pipes,  thus 
ensuring  good  ventilation.  At  one  of  the  annual  meet 
ings  of  the  Iroquois  Club  Mayor  Harrison  took  the  visitors 
to  inspect  this  model  town.  Jane  Addams,  the  founder  of 
Hull  House,  wrote  an  account  of  Pullman's  philanthropic 
endeavors  for  the  welfare  of  his  workmen  and  called  him  a 
modern  Lear,  overwhelmed  with  disappointment  at  the 
failure  of  his  well-meant  plans  to  win  the  hearts  of  his 
men. 

After  the  panic  of  1893,  business  became  dull,  wages 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  421 

generally  declined  and  the  Pullman  Company  reduced  the 
wages  of  its  employees.  They  struck  May  n,  1894. 
About  4000  of  them  were  members  of  the  American  Rail 
way  Union  which  had  been  organized  by  Eugene  V.  Debs 
in  1893.  It  had  an  enrollment  in  June,  1894,  of  about 
150,000  members.  In  that  month  a  Convention  of  the 
Union  met  in  Chicago.  Its  officers  tried  to  effect  a  settle 
ment  of  the  Pullman  strike.  These  efforts  failed  and  the 
Convention  passed  a  resolution  that  no  member  of  the 
Union  should  handle  Pullman  cars  and  equipment.  This 
was  interpreted  to  mean  that  they  should  not  handle 
any  trains  to  which  Pullman  cars  were  attached.  So 
perfect  was  the  discipline  of  the  Union  that  no  regular 
trains  were  run  for  a  fortnight  on  most  of  the  railways 
centering  in  Chicago,  nor  on  the  Southern  Pacific  system, 
as  far  west  as  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  carriage  of  the 
mails  and  indeed  all  interstate  commerce  in  twenty-seven 
States  was  obstructed.  The  strikers  derailed  cars,  cut  off 
and  disabled  engines.  The  local  authorities  were  unable 
to  maintain  order. 

There  was  a  federal  statute  (U.  S.  Rev.  Stat.  §5298) 
which  was  in  effect  a  reenactment  of  the  Force  Bill  of 
1833,  which  authorized  the  President  to  use  the  Army 
and  Navy 

to  enforce  the  faithful  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  whenever  by  reason  of  unlawful  obstructions,  combi 
nations  or  assemblages  of  persons  ...  it  shall  become  im 
practicable  in  the  judgment  of  the  President  to  enforce  by  the 
ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 


422      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Cleveland  ordered  troops  to  Chicago.  He  directed  that 
a  suit  be  brought  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  in 
Illinois  to  enjoin  Debs  and  his  associates  from  interfering 
with  the  transport  of  the  mails  and  from  obstructing 
interstate  commerce.  The  injunction  was  granted  July 
2,  1894.  Debs  and  his  associates  violated  it  and  continued 
their  obstruction.  July  8th  the  President  issued  a 
proclamation  warning  them  to  disperse  and  declaring  that 

those  who  disregard  this  warning  and  persist  in  taking  part 
with  a  riotous  mob  in  forcibly  resisting  and  obstructing  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  .  .  .  cannot  be  regarded  otherwise 
than  as  public  enemies. 

The  troops  dispersed  the  mob,  Debs  and  three  other 
officers  of  the  Railway  Union  were  arrested  on  the  tenth 
of  July  upon  indictments  found  for  complicity  in  the 
obstruction  of  mails  and  interstate  commerce.  On  the 
seventeenth  they  were  arrested  for  contempt  of  court. 
To  use  Debs'  own  language: 

As  soon  as  the  employees  found  that  we  were  arrested  and 
taken  from  the  scene  of  action,  they  became  demoralized, 
and  that  ended  the  strike. 

December  14,  1894,  the  Court  found  Debs  and  his 
associates  guilty  of  contempt  of  its  order  and  sentenced 
them  to  imprisonment.  They  sued  out  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  from  the  Supreme  Court.  May  27,  1895,  that 
Court  confirmed  the  action  of  the  Circuit  Court, x  and  sus 
tained  the  action  of  the  President. 

In  short  Cleveland  kept  his  official  oath  to  "enforce 

1  In  re  Debs,  158  U.  S.,  564. 


PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN  423 

the  laws  of  the  United  States, "  by  direct  proceedings 
criminal,  civil  and  military.  He  did  not  seek  popularity, 
he  simply  did  his  duty.  With  him  a  straight  line  was 
always  the  shortest  distance  between  two  points. 

Our  greatest,  yet  with  least  pretense, 
And  as  the  greatest  only  are 
In  his  simplicity  sublime. 

Let  me  tell  here  of  a  matter,  interest  in  which  is  revived 
by  the  Armenian  massacres  of  1915  and  1916.  In  1895 
the  Turks  in  Asia-Minor  massacred  great  numbers  of  the 
Armenians.  They  did  not  confine  their  murderous 
assaults  to  Armenians,  but  destroyed  several  colleges, 
schoolhouses  and  other  buildings  that  with  the  full  con 
sent  of  the  Turkish  Government  and  under  the  protection 
of  our  treaties  with  that  Government,  had  been  erected 
by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions.  No  American  citizens  were  killed,  but  their 
lives  were  threatened,  and  they  were  exposed  to  great 
hardship  and  privation.  When  the  news  of  this  depreda 
tion  reached  this  country  the  Congress  passed  the  following 
resolution  (January  27,  1896)  : 

Resolved  further,  That  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  the 
House  of  Representatives  concurring,  will  support  the  Presi 
dent  in  the  most  vigorous  action  he  may  take  for  the  protection 
and  security  of  American  citizens  in  Turkey,  and  to  obtain 
redress  for  injuries  committed  upon  the  persons  or  property 
of  such  citizens. 

The  American  Minister  in  Constantinople  had  been 
instructed  by  Richard  Olney,  then  Secretary  of  State,  to 


424      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

remonstrate.  The  Turkish  Government  answered  these 
remonstrances  politely  but  did  not  heed  them.  It  became 
evident  to  the  friends  of  the  Americans  in  Turkey  that 
some  more  vigorous  measures  must  be  adopted  in  order 
to  obtain  redress. 

In  the  summer  of  1896,  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Barton,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  American  Board, 
asking  me  to  go  to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board,  which 
was  to  be  held  at  Toledo  on  October  sixth,  and  deliver  an 
address  on  The  Duty  of  the  United  States  to  American  Citi 
zens  in  Turkey.  To  this  I  demurred,  but  Dr.  Barton  urged 
that  the  fact  that  I  was  a  member  of  a  different  Christian 
body  would  give  my  words  more  emphasis,  and  I  finally 
consented,  and  prepared  my  address  with  care.  I  found 
that  the  rights  of  our  citizens  in  Turkey  began  with  the 
treaty  of  1830,  and  that  in  1855  Attorney-General  Caleb 
Cushing  had  given  an  opinion  that  the  protection  given 
by  the  treaty  extended  to  our  citizens  engaged  in  "  any 
subject  or  object  of  intercourse  whatever."  The  mis 
sionaries  had  gone  to  Turkey  with  the  full  consent  of  the 
Government,  as  much  as  nine  million  dollars  had  been  in 
vested  by  them  in  schools,  colleges  and  hospitals,  they 
had  not  undertaken  in  any  way  to  proselytize  among  the 
Mohammedans,  but  had  confined  their  ministrations  to  the 
native  Christians,  and  the  real  reason  of  the  assaults  upon 
them  and  their  property  was  because  they  had  befriended 
the  Armenians,  whom  marauding  Turks  and  Koords 
wished  to  plunder  and  kill. 

I  delivered  the  address  October  7,  1896.  I  certainly 
spoke  with  heat  and  fire  and  force,  and  my  exposition  of 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  425 

the  duty  of  the  American  government  to  obtain  redress 
for  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  its  citizens  was  received 
with  enthusiasm.  One  of  my  Brooklyn  friends  was 
ready  to  raise  a  regiment  to  sail  to  the  relief  of  our  people 
there.  This  of  course  was  not  what  we  wanted,  but  we 
did  wish  to  impress  the  administration  with  the  convic 
tion  that  American  public  sentiment  would  sustain  very 
vigorous  remonstrances  on  the  part  of  our  government. 
Two  extracts  from  this  speech  will  tell  the  story  of  the 
conditions  in  Asia-Minor  as  we  saw  them  at  the  time. 

Our  citizens  are  wanted  in  Turkey.  It  is  true  the  Turks 
do  not  want  them,  but  the  Turks  do  not  constitute  the  whole 
of  the  people  of  Asia-Minor.  They  exercise  by  force  of  arms  a 
government  which  they  won  by  force,  but  which  they  have  not 
had  the  moderation  to  retain  by  dealing  justly  with  the  subject 
races.  The  great  Roman  historian  tells  us  that  provinces 
are  won  by  force,  but  are  kept  by  just  government.  This  the 
Turks  have  never  learned.  These  subject  races  are  an  impor 
tant  part  of  the  people  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  To  them  the 
presence  of  American  citizens,  bringing  education,  bringing 
hope,  bringing  medicine  and  relief  in  sickness  and  aid  in  un 
deserved  distress,  is  most  welcome.  Fellowship  in  suffering, 
the  sympathy  and  help  freely  given  by  England  and  America, 
have  brought  the  native  Christians  and  their  American  neigh 
bors  into  the  closest  brotherhood.  It  were  base  to  desert  our 
citizens,  who,  with  the  full  consent  of  the  Turkish  Government, 
with  rights  guaranteed  by  sacred  treaties,  have  gone  to  per 
form  imperative  obligations  of  humanity ;  it  were  more  base  to 
desert  them  and  leave  not  only  our  own,  but  those  whom  they 
have  benefited,  exposed  to  the  cruelty  and  oppression  of  the 
Turk. 

When  Lieutenant  Greely  went  on  an  expedition  of  scientific 
interest  to  the  polar  regions,  did  we  desert  him  and  his  fol 
lowers?  No;  we  spared  neither  men  nor  money;  we  sent 


426      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

expedition  after  expedition.  The  President,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  vied  with  each  other  in  their 
efforts  to  succor  our  citizens  in  their  need.  Is  humanity  less 
sacred  than  science?  Is  education  less  important  than  the 
study  of  the  arctic  currents?  Are  the  school  and  college  less 
entitled  to  our  care  than  the  barometer  and  the  theodolite? 
Is  the  discovery  of  the  pole  more  imperative  than  the  protec 
tion  of  Christian  civilization? 

But  let  us  not  stop  with  general  statements.  All  general 
statements  can  best  be  brought  to  the  test  of  particular 
instances.  The  most  notable  of  these  is  that  ever  memorable 
incident  in  the  history  of  our  citizens  in  Turkey,  Corinna  Shat- 
tuck  at  Oorfa.  There,  in  her  single  person,  she  stood  for  all  the 
American  Government  stands  for — for  righteousness,  for 
justice,  for  law.  There  she  had  been  sent  by  your  Board; 
there  she  had  been  established  with  the  consent  of  the  Turkish 
Government;  there  she  had  acquired  a  home  and  used  it  for 
the  education  of  children  and  their  parents,  and  for  the  relief 
of  the  suffering  and  distressed.  When  a  cruel  Mussulman 
mob  sought  to  outrage  and  slay  the  native  Christians,  they 
found  refuge  with  her.  Her  little  inclosure  was  packed 
with  the  innocent  victims  of  Turkish  outrage  and  Turkish 
rapacity.  She  faced  the  howling  mob.  To  every  demand 
that  she  should  yield  and  allow  them  to  pass,  she  interposed 
the  dignity  and  authority  of  her  womanhood,  and  the  sacred- 
ness  of  treaty  rights,  secured  for  her  and  all  our  citizens  by  the 
Government  of  her  native  land. x 

If  the  American  Board,  with  all  its  outlay  of  money  and 
time  and  thought,  with  all  its  memorable  and  precious  history, 
had  accomplished  nothing  but  to  put  Corinna  Shattuck  at  the 
door  of  her  house  in  Oorfa,  standing  as  she  did  as  a  protection 
and  shield  for  hundreds  of  innocent  Christians,  that  result  of 
itself  would  more  than  repay  all  the  toil  and  expenditure  of  the 
past.  Wherever  this  gospel  shall  be  spoken  of  throughout  all 
the  world,  there  also  that  this  woman  hath  done  shall  be  told 
as  a  memorial  of  her.  Nor  she  alone.  A  noble  army,  whose 

1  Our  Heroes  in  the  Orient,  p.  12. 


PRESIDENTS   I  HAVE  KNOWN  427 

courage  and  heroism  shed  undying  luster  on  the  American 
name,  have  endured  hardship  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ. 
One  of  them,  President  Gates  of  Euphrates  College,  writes : 

"For  three  days  we  have  looked  death  in  the  face  hourly. 
We  have  passed  by  the  mouth  of  a  bottomless  pit,  and  flames 
came  out  against  us,  but  no  one  in  our  company  flinched  or 
faltered.  We  simply  trusted  in  the  Lord  and  went  on.  ... 
If  we  abandon  the  Christians  they  are  lost."1 

Citizens  of  the  United  States,  if  you  abandon  Corinna 
Shattuck  and  Gates  and  all  our  heroes  in  the  Orient,  you  are 
lost; — lost  to  honor,  lost  to  duty,  despised  of  man  and  criminals 
before  God.  May  He,  in  infinite  mercy,  preserve  us  from 
such  shame ! 

The  American  Board  urged  more  vigorous  measures 
upon  the  administration.  My  speech  was  printed,  and 
circulated  extensively  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  go 
to  Washington  and  present  the  subject  to  Mr.  Cleveland. 
He  received  us  in  the  executive  chamber  at  the  White 
House.  The  convenient  offices  at  the  west  end  of  the 
building  had  not  then  been  built,  and  the  room  in  which 
we  were  received  was  the  same  as  that  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  used  as  an  executive  office  during  the  war,  and  which 
had  been  used  by  American  Presidents  ever  since. 

My  old  classmate,  Richard  Olney,  the  Secretary  of 
State,  was  with  the  President,  and  I  remember  well  his 
saying,  when  we  were  presented  and  shook  hands,  "What, 
Wheeler,  you  here?"  We  stated  our  case  and  the  re 
monstrances  of  our  Government  were  made  more  vigor 
ous  than  ever,  but  Cleveland's  term  was  drawing  to 
a  close  and  nothing  was  accomplished  until  the  next 
administration. 

1  Our  Heroes  in  the  Orient,  pp.,  6,  7. 


428      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

After  Cleveland's  final  retirement  from  the  Presidency, 
he  did  not  resume  the  practice  of  law,  but  went  to  live  at 
Princeton.  He  was  requested  to  lecture  to  the  students, 
which  he  did  with  great  success,  and  became  popular 
among  them.  On  one  occasion  I  urged  upon  him  the 
desirability  of  his  writing  a  history  of  his  two  administra 
tions.  He  replied  that  his  personal  books  and  papers  had 
been  sent  to  him  from  Washington,  and  that  he  had 
ample  material  for  this  purpose.  "But,"  he  added, 
"if  I  were  to  do  that,  and  to  tell  the  truth,  I  should  make 
a  good  many  people  very  angry."  He  did  write  two 
magazine  articles  giving  reminiscences  of  his  two  admin 
istrations.  These,  with  two  Princeton  lectures,  were 
revised  and  published  in  book  form.1 

He  continued  his  interest  in  the  matters  that  had  occu 
pied  his  attention  as  President.  One  very  important 
subject  was  that  of  forestry,  and  of  the  protection  of  the 
United  States  forest  reserves.  A  letter  which  he  wrote 
me  May  13,  1897,  is  of  interest  in  this  connection: 

WESTLAND,  PRINCETON,  N.  J. 
May  13,  1897. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER: 

Mr.  Sargent  and  Mr.  Pinchot  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences 
with  other  experts,  were  appointed  a  Commission  to  examine 
the  Forestry  Question  and  spent  a  number  of  months  in  a 
careful  and  personal  investigation  on  the  ground. 

They  made  a  most  interesting  and  to  my  mind  a  most 
persuasive  report  on  the  subject.  I  gave  this  report  a  careful 
scrutiny  and  had  full  consultations  with  the  Commissioners 
which  resulted  in  my  clear  conviction  that  they  had  arrived 

1  Presidential  Problems,  The  Century  Co.,  1904. 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  429 

at  proper  conclusions,  imposing  the  duty  upon  me  of  their 
adoption  by  Executive  proclamation.  The  22nd  day  of 
February,  1897,  was  fixed  upon  as  the  day  when  the  proclama 
tions  were  to  be  promulgated.  This  was  on  Monday  and  on 
Tuesday  the  23rd.  of  February  a  statement  was  given  to  the 
press  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  comprising,  as  I  re 
member  it,  quite  a  full  synopsis  of  the  report,  etc. 


So  far  as  I  have  read  the  newspapers  I  have  been  much 
surprised  by  the  absence  of  defense  of  the  movement  since  the 
attack  upon  it  has  commenced. 

The  ruthless  destroyers  of  our  forests  and  the  robbers  of 
our  timber  even  in  the  face  of  most  devastating  floods,  seem 
to  have  the  field  far  too  much  to  themselves. 

If  the  reservations  are  to  be  set  aside  on  their  behest  the 
people  should  at  least  understand  their  motives  and  the  firm 
foundations  in  reason  and  public  interest  upon  which  the 
reservations  rest. 

Yours  very  truly, 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 


Let  me  close  this  sketch  with  a  notable  incident.  When 
Mr.  Root  was  President  of  the  Bar  Association  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  on  the  evening  of  June  15,  1905,  that 
Association  gave  a  reception  to  Mr.  Choate,  who  had  been 
President  of  the  Association  and  was  then  returned  from 
his  long  and  faithful  service  as  Ambassador  at  the  Court 
of  St.  James.  The  spacious  halls  of  the  Association  were 
crowded  with  lawyers  and  other  distinguished  citizens. 
When  the  affair  was  at  its  height,  Mr.  Cleveland  came  up 
the  staircase  to  the  second  floor.  Immediately,  by  a 
spontaneous  impulse,  a  lane  was  opened  through  the 
multitude,  and  men  stood  on  either  side  applauding  as  he 


430      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

walked  up  to  pay  his  respects  to  Mr.  Choate.  A  similar 
mark  of  respect  was  paid  to  Daniel  Webster  at  a  reception 
in  Boston,  given  to  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court  of  Massachusetts. 


II 


Mr.  McKinley  developed  more  steadily  than  any 
public  man  I  ever  knew.  He  began  life  as  a  lawyer  in  a 
small  country  place  in  Ohio.  He  served  with  honor 
during  the  Civil  War.  When  that  war  was  over  he  went 
into  the  House  of  Representatives.  During  his  service 
there  he  was  a  strong  Republican  partisan  and  an  ardent 
protectionist.  To  judge  from  his  speeches  the  whole 
glory  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States  had  sprung  from 
a  high  protective  tariff.  He  had  little  sympathy  with 
President  Arthur  and  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr, 
Folger,  in  their  recommendation  to  Congress  to  put  raw 
material  on  the  free  list,  to  reduce  the  duties  on  the  finished 
product  and  thus  to  ameliorate  the  burdens  upon  American 
industry,  imposed  by  the  tariff  as  it  then  existed. 

Harrison  became  President  March  4,  1889.  The 
Republicans  had  a  majority  in  both  Houses  of  Congress. 
McKinley  became  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  fathered 
what  came  to  be  known  as  the  McKinley  Bill.  The  dis 
tinctive  feature  of  this  was  that  it  put  sugar  on  the  free 
list,  and  offered  a  bounty  by  way  of  compensation  to  the 
sugar  growers  of  the  United  States. 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  McKinley  Bill  was  to 


JOSEPH     H.    CHOATE 

(From  an  Engraving  by  E.  A.  Williams  &  Bro.) 


PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN  431 

raise  the  price  of  every  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
with  the  single  exception  of  sugar.  McKinley  perceived 
this  effect.  He  began  to  study,  not  only  the  manufactur 
ing,  but  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country.  He 
perceived  that  our  manufacturing  industries  had  developed 
far  beyond  what  the  most  sanguine  had  expected;  that 
even  from  the  standpoint  of  a  protectionist,  they  did  not 
need  high  duties  and  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of 
the  country  to  develop  its  commerce  arM  to  diminish 
the  bounty  given  to  manufacturers  by  the  tariff.  In  the 
course  of  the  campaign  of  1896  in  which  he  defeated 
Bryan,  he  also  learned  that  a  uniform  basis  for  the  cur 
rency  of  the  United  States  was  a  matter  of  vital  conse 
quence  to  the  country.  Prior  to  that  year  he  had  been,  to 
use  the  vernacular,  on  the  fence,  on  the  subject  of  free 
silver.  But  in  1896  there  was  no  hesitation.  He  defended 
the  gold  standard  manfully  and  when  he  became  President 
in  1897,  not  only  was  he  loyal  to  the  pledges  of  the  plat 
form  on  this  subject  but  he  espoused  the  cause  of  recipro 
city  which  Mr.  Blaine  had  advocated  before  him.  He 
proposed  treaties  with  other  nations  by  which  in  exchange 
for  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  levied  by  them  on  American 
products,  we  would  make  a  reduction  of  the  duties  levied 
upon  their  products  by  our  tariff  laws. 

Immediately  upon  his  inauguration  he  summoned  an 
extra  session  of  Congress  which  met  on  the  fifteenth  of 
March,  1897.  He  urged  the  repeal  of  the  Wilson  Bill  and 
the  adoption  of  a  protective  tariff,  but  he  also  urged  upon 
Congress  the  insertion  in  this  tariff  of  reciprocity  provi 
sions.  The  Dingley  Bill,  as  it  was  called,  became  a  law 


432     SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

on  the 'seventh  of  July,  1897,  and  was  the  beginning  of  a 
more  liberal  policy  in  this  respect.  Unlike  the  McKinley 
Bill  this  Act  imposed  a  duty  on  sugar  with  a  differential 
in  favor  of  refined  sugar.  It  imposed  a  duty  on  raw  wool 
and  on  woolen  goods.  Wool  growers  had  been  taught  to 
believe  that  their  losses  during  the  Cleveland  administra 
tion  were  due  to  the  passage  of  the  Wilson  Bill.  It  was 
a  good  instance  of  the  cynical  saying — "A  lie  well  stuck 
to  is  as  good  as  the  truth."  Certainly  in  this  case  the 
lie  had  been  convincing. 

In  the  course  of  fifteen  years,  however,  the  country 
has  learned  better.  In  1913,  the  Underwood  Tariff  gave 
us  a  more  liberal  wool  schedule. 

McKinley's  administration  will  always  be  famous 
for  the  Spanish  War  and  for  the  Colonial  Policy  which 
followed.  The  cruelty  of  the  Spanish  administration  in 
Cuba  had  become  too  great  to  be  tolerated  by  a  neighbor 
ing  nation.  Cleveland,  in  1896,  had  called  attention  to 
this  and  to  the  injustice  which  was  done  to  American 
investors  in  Cuba  and  to  American  trade  with  that  island, 
by  reason  of  its  wretched  condition. 

McKinley  and  the  Ambassador,  whom  he  sent  to  Madrid, 
Gen.  Stewart  L.  Woodford,  endeavored  to  procure  from 
the  Spanish  Government  such  reforms  in  the  administra 
tion  of  Cuba  as  would  satisfy  the  American  people.  But 
the  disease  had  become  inveterate.  The  corruption  of 
the  administration  of  the  government  of  that  island 
was  great.  I  learned  from  men  in  business  there  that 
when  General  Weyler  was  relieved  from  his  command 
and  left  the  island,  he  took  with  him  great  sums  of 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  433 

money,  which  he  had  retained  out  of  the  remittances 
which  had  been  sent  him  fronTthe  Spanish  Government 
for  the  pay  of  the  troops  and  the  expenses  of  the  ad 
ministration. 

Some  New  York  shipping  merchants  had  this  experi 
ence.  Spanish  vessels  of  war  put  into  New  York  Harbor 
before  the  war  and  bought  stores.  The  bill  for  these 
was  sent  in  due  course  for  the  fair  value  of  the  sup 
plies.  The  officer  in  charge  told  the  merchants  that  he 
would  not  pay  the  bill  unless  the  nominal  amount  of  it 
was  increased  and  put  in  such  form  that  he  could  pre 
sent  the  bill  for  the  whole  amount  as  a  voucher,  while 
paying  to  the  New  York  merchant  only  the  original 
charge.  When  naval  officers  stoop  to  such  rascality,  it  is 
obvious  that  civilians  will  be  no  better. 

General  Weyler,  who  was  the  Governor-General,  un 
dertook  to  lay  waste  the  hill  district  of  the  island  and  to 
drive_the  women  and  children  into  narrow  quarters,  which 
were  practically  a  wretched  camp.  These  were  called 
reconcentrados. 

Senator  Redfield  Proctor  of  Vermont,  who  was  a  cool, 
clearheaded  business  man,  not  given  to  exaggeration  of 
statement,  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  go  to  Cuba 
and  see  for  himself  the  condition  of  the  reconcentrados.  He 
went,  he  saw,  came  back  to  Washington  and  told  in  the 
Senate  in  plain  language  the  story  of  what  he  had  seen. 
This  speech  of  Senator  Proctor's  had  much  to  do  with  the 
outbreak  of  popular  sentiment  throughout  the  United 
States,  which  led  Congress  to  declare  war.  McKinley 
would  gladly  have  averted  war,  but  Congress  was  too 


434      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

strong  for  him.  War  was  declared  and  ended  with  the 
independence  of  Cuba. 

I  saw  McKinley  during  his  first  term  in  support  of 
the  claim  of  the  American  Missionaries  to  Turkey  for 
compensation  for  their  property  which  had  been  destroyed 
during  the  massacres.  He  had  sent  as  Ambassador  to 
Constantinople  that  public-spirited  man  and  able  negotia 
tor,  Oscar  S.  Straus.  He  was  a  Democrat.  His  brother 
Isidor  had  been  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  House 
during  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration.  McKinley  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  Straus  could  do  more  to  settle 
the  claims  against  the  Turkish  Government  than  any 
other  man  who  was  available.  The  Committee  appointed 
by  the  American  Board  urged  upon  McKinley  the  justice 
of  the  claims  which  were  limited  to  the  actual  loss  caused 
by  the  destruction  of  property  and  asked  no  remuneration 
for  personal  injuries.  In  this  respect  the  missionary 
claims  compared  favorably  with  most  claims  presented 
to  the  State  Department.  McKinley  instructed  the  Am 
bassador  at  Constantinople  to  press  the  claims  vigor 
ously.  In  1898  the  Sultan  directed  indemnity  to  be 
arranged,  but  it  was  not  paid  until  1901,  when  Mr. 
Hay,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  State,  finally  insisted 
upon  and  obtained  payment.1  Though  Mr.  Straus  was 
a  Hebrew,  yet. he  showed  more  consideration  for  the  be 
nevolent  and  philanthropic  work  of  the  missionaries,  was 
better  liked  by  them,  and  accomplished  more  to  pro 
tect  their  schools  than  any  man  whom  we  had  sent  to 
Constantinople. 

1  Sears'  Life  of  John  Hay,  p.  99. 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  435 

McKinley's  experience  during  his  first  term  deepened 
his  conviction  that  this  country  should  encourage  foreign 
trade  and  that  the  existing  tariff  was  unnecessarily  bur 
densome  to  this  trade.  In  a  speech  which  he  made  at 
Buffalo  the  day  before  his  death  he  thus  expressed  his 
convictions : 

By  sensible  trade  arrangements  which  will  not  interrupt  our 
home  production  we  shall  extend  the  outlets  for  our  increasing 
surplus.  A  system  which  provides  a  mutual  exchange  of 
commodities  is  manifestly  essential  to  the  continued  and 
healthful  growth  of  our  export  trade.  We  must  not  repose 
in  fancied  security  that  we  can  forever  sell  everything  and  buy 
little  or  nothing.  If  such  a  thing  were  possible  it  would  not  be 
best  for  us  or  for  those  with  whom  we  deal.  We  should  take 
from  our  customers  such  of  their  products  as  we  can  use  with 
out  harm  to  our  industries  and  labor.  Reciprocity  is  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  our  wonderful  industrial  development 
under  the  domestic  policy  now  firmly  established. 

What  we  produce  beyond  our  domestic  consumption  must 
have  a  vent  abroad.  The  excess  must  be  relieved  through  a 
foreign  outlet,  and  we  should  sell  everywhere  we  can  and  buy 
wherever  the  buying  will  enlarge  our  sales  and  productions, 
and  thereby  make  a  greater  demand  for  home  labor. 

He  was  assassinated  on  the  sixth  of  September,  1901,  at 
a  public  reception  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition  at 
Buffalo.  How  it  happened  that  the  secret  service  men 
who  had  been  detailed  to  guard  him,  failed  to  observe 
the  young  anarchist  Czolgoz,  who  came  up  with  a  pistol 
in  his  pocket  and  shot  the  President,  is  hard  to  say. 
Probably  like  many  other  men,  they  had  come  to  consider 
the  discharge  of  their  duty  as  mere  routine.  Unfortu 
nately,  as  the  French  proverb  has  it, — "It  is  always  the 


436      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

unexpected  that  happens."  McKinley  passed  away  and 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  whom  Platt  had  sought  to  shelve 
by  taking  him  from  the  office  of  Governor  of  New  York 
and  nominating  him  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  became 
President  in  his  stead. 

This  was  the  third  assassination  of  a  President  in  my 
time.  The  first  was  by  a  Confederate  who  could  not 
forgive  the  defeat  of  the  Confederacy;  the  second  was  by 
a  disappointed  office  seeker;  the  third  by  an  anarchist 
who  had  no  special  grudge  against  the  President,  but 
wished  to  do  his  part  to  break  down  the  Government  and 
destroy  society.  Booth  was  shot,  Guiteau  was  hung 
and  Czolgoz  was  electrocuted.  Thus  the  country  was 
freed  from  three  "undesirable  citizens"  who  were  really 
more  dangerous  than  wild  beasts.  But  the  Presidents 
they  slew  could  not  be  replaced.  Nevertheless  the 
country  lived  and  went  on  in  its  career.  It  is  greater 
than  any  individual. 

McKinley  had  one  characteristic  in  which  he  excelled 
any  public  man  of  my  time.  That  was  tact.  He  was 
vigorous  and  energetic  in  the  advocacy  of  his  own  side, 
but  he  knew  how  to  do  this  without  making  enemies. 
It  was  said  that  he  could  refuse  an  application  and  leave 
the  applicant  more  pleased  than  other  men  would,  who 
granted  the  favor  asked. 

Oft  she  rejects,  but  never  once  offends.  x 

Elihu  Root,  in  his  speech  at  the  Republican  Convention 
of  1904,  described  him  admirably: 

1  Pope,  Rape  of  the  Lock. 


Pach   Bros. 


THE    HON.    THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  437 

How  wise  and  skilful  he  was.  How  modest  and  self- 
effacing.  How  deep  his  insight  into  the  human  heart.  How 
swift  the  intuitions  of  his  sympathy.  How  compelling  the 
charm  of  his  gracious  presence.  He  was  so  unselfish,  so  genu 
ine  a  lover  of  his  kind.  And  he  was  the  kindest  and  tenderest 
friend  that  ever  grasped  another's  hand.  Alas!  that  his 
virtues  did  plead  in  vain  against  his  cruel  fate ! 


Ill 


I  first  met  Mr.  Roosevelt  when  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1883.  He, 
Walter  Howe,  also  of  New  York  and  Hamilton  Fish  of 
Putnam  County,  were  then  members  of  the  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

They  had  together  taken  a  house  in  Elk  Street  and  our 
New  York  reformers  often  spoke  of  them  as  a  gratifying 
indication  that  young  men  of  education  and  independent 
means  were  taking  an  active  part  in  public  life. 

Edward  M.  Shepard  and  I  had  drawn  a  bill  applying 
to  the  civil  service  of  the  State  of  New  York  the  princi 
ples  of  civil  service  reform  which  were  embodied  in  the 
Federal  Act.  I  saw  Roosevelt  in  reference  to  the  bill  and 
he  supported  it  effectively.  Grover  Cleveland  used  all 
his  influence  in  its  favor  and  it  passed.  In  the  Assembly 
the  vote  was  almost  unanimous. 

The  system  worked  well  and  in  1884  we  introduced 
amendments  extending  its  scope.  Mr.  Roosevelt  sup 
ported  the  amended  bill  effectively.  He  opposed  an 
amendment  providing  for  the  submission  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  of  the  question  of  applying  the  civil  service  re- 


438      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

form  act  in  municipalities.    The  paragraph  in  the  Argus 
reads  thus: 

Mr.  Roosevelt  opposed  the  amendment  which  he  said, 
"He  who  runs  can  read."  Its  object  was  to  embarrass  the 
operation  of  the  measure.  The  object  of  the  civil  service 
law  was  to  take  the  matter  of  distributing  offices  out  of  politics 
and  to  improve  the  character  of  the  civil  service.  The  opera 
tion  of  the  Pendleton  Bill  in  National  affairs  and  of  the  bill 
passed  last  year  in  State  affairs  had  been  salutary.  The 
bill  struck  at  the  root  of  one  of  the  greatest  evils  in  this 
country. 

On  this  amendment  Roosevelt  carried  his  point,  but 
when  the  bill  came  up  for  a  final  vote  it  did  not  receive 
the  necessary  constitutional  vote  of  65.  He  then  moved 
a  reconsideration,  and  gave  notice,  under  the  rules,  that 
such  motion  would  be  brought  before  the  House.  He 
moved  a  call  of  the  House  so  as  to  ensure  the  attendance  of 
members,  and  finally  carried  the  bill  by  a  vote  of  79  to 

32. 

In  the  Senate  the  bill  was  amended  to  exempt  the 
fire  department  from  the  operation  of  the  civil  service 
system  and  to  exempt  from  all  examination  for  entrance 
to  the  civil  service,  applicants  who  were  honorably  dis 
charged  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War. 

Roosevelt  opposed  these  amendments  in  the  Assembly 
and  the  matter  came  up  in  conference  committee.  The 
Senate  amendments  were  stricken  out  and  the  bill  was 
finally  passed. 

There  is  no  member  of  the  Assembly  to  whom  this 
great  reform  was  more  indebted  than  it  was  to  Theodore 


PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN  439 

Roosevelt.  He  had  then  some  of  the  same  characteristics 
with  which  the  country  has  since  become  familiar :  bound 
less  energy,  quick,  nervous  manner,  unlimited  capacity 
for  work  and  untiring  perseverance. 

After  he  left  the  Assembly,  he  became  one  of  the 
Republican  Police  Commissioners  in  the  City  of  New 
York.  The  board  was  then  bi-partisan — two  Democrats 
and  two  Republicans  were  required  to  be  members. 
Roosevelt  was  a  strong  party  man,  insisting  that  more 
good  could  be  accomplished  by  reform  within  the  party, 
than  by  any  attempt  to  go  into  opposition.  It  was  this 
that  led  him,'  reluctantly,  to  support  Mr.  Elaine  in  the 
campaign  of  1884.  It  had  been  thought  by  many  of  his 
friends  that  he  would  follow  George  William  Curtis  and 
Carl  Schurz  in  their  bolt  from  the  nomination.  But 
Roosevelt  went  out  to  his  Western  ranch  and  came  back 
convinced  that  duty  required  him  to  support  Mr.  Elaine, 
which  he  did. 

As  Police  Commissioner  he  was  a  member  of  what 
Mayor  Strong  called  his  "Cabinet."  He  was  full  of  en 
thusiasm  for  the  cause  of  civil  service  reform,  and  ad 
ministered  his  department,  as  far  as  it  lay  in  his  power, 
in  entire  accordance  with  its  principles. 

In  March,  1889,  Harrison  became  President  and  ap 
pointed  Roosevelt  a  Civil  Service  Commissioner.  He 
urged  upon  the  President  the  importance  of  extending  the 
classified  service.  The  President  was  too  much  absorbed 
by  the  tariff  fight  to  do  much  in  that  direction. 

My  next  meeting  with  Roosevelt  was  when  he  was 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  McKinley's  first 


440      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

administration.  The  Cuban  War  came  upon  the  country 
suddenly.  We  found  ourselves  obliged  immediately  to 
purchase  or  charter  transports  and  cruisers  for  the  use 
of  the  Navy  Department.  I  was  counsel  at  the  time 
for  the  Hamburg-American  Line  and  for  the  Atlas  Line. 
The  opinion  prevailed  that  the  Navy  Department  was  not 
exercising  sufficient  care  in  its  selection  and  that  favorit 
ism  was  shown  in  choosing  ships.  I  wrote  him  on  the 
subject  and  received  this  characteristic  letter  in  reply : 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

Washington,  May  2,  1898. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHEELER:" 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  impression  you  speak  of 
comes  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  great  multitude  of  ship- 
brokers  have  been  unable  to  do  any  business  with  the  Inspec 
tion  Board;  and  partly  from  their  ingrained  belief  in 
underhanded  work,  and  partly  to  account  for  their  failing,  they 
talk  about  corruption.  Several  such  rumors  have  come  to  me, 
and  in  each  case,  on  investigation,  they  resolved  themselves 
into  the  disappointment  of  some  broker  in  failing  to  get  us  to 
purchase  some  ship  we  did  not  want. 

Doubtless  one  or  two  ships  among  the  fifty  the  Navy 
Department  have  purchased  are  not  what  they  should  be, 
and  doubtless  one  or  two  that  should  have  been  purchased 
have  been  rejected;  but  our  Board  is  one  of  singular  honesty, 
efficiency  and  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  I  personally 
know  about  the  important  vessels  they  have  purchased.  These 
important  vessels  are  the  best  of  their  kind  that  are  to  be 
obtained.  There  are  no  big  steamers  left  which  are  anything 
like  as  fit  for  auxiliary  cruisers  as  those  we  have  purchased, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  tugs  and  yachts. 

I  am  very  much  obliged  for  your  kindness  in  writing  to  me. 

Very  truly  yours, 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  441 

My  observation  satisfied  me  that  his  presence  in  the 
Navy  Department  and  the  efficiency  with  which  he 
managed  all  the  affairs  which  came  within  the  scope  of 
his  office  service,  was  of  great  public  importance.  When 
the  rumor  came  that  he  was  to  become  Colonel  of  a  regi 
ment  of  rough-rider  cavalry,  largely  to  be  raised  among 
his  friends  on  the  Western  ranches,  I  urged  upon  him 
the  great  usefulness  of  his  service  at  Washington.  His 
appreciation  of  this  compliment  did  not  prevent  his  carry 
ing  out  his  plan.  The  story  of  his  service  in  Cuba,  of 
his  subsequent  election  as  Governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York  and  as  President,  need  not  here  be  told.  The 
country  is  familiar  with  it. 

One  important  service  that  he  rendered  the  country 
should,  however,  be  recalled.  May  12,  1902,  147,000 
miners  in  the  anthracite  coal  region,  composing  the 
United  Mine  Workers'  Association,  went  on  strike.  The 
strike  lasted  five  months.  It  was  accompanied  by 
murder  and  other  deeds  of  violence,  and  caused  great 
suffering,  especially  to  the  poor,  through  the  eastern 
states  and  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  On  October  i,  the 
President  sent  telegrams  to  the  Presidents  of  the  coal 
companies  and  to  John  Mitchell,  the  President  of  the 
United  Mine  Workers'  Association,  to  meet  him  on  the 
third  "in  regard  to  the  failure  of  the  coal  supply,  which 
has  become  a  matter  of  vital  concern  to  the  whole  nation. " 
With  all  the  energy  of  his  vigorous  nature,  he  urged  upon 
both  parties  the  necessity  of  a  settlement.  On  October 
6th,  he  promised  to  appoint  an  impartial  commission 
to  investigate  the  subject  if  the  men  would  return  to  work 


442      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

at  once.  He  said  that  this  commission  "was  to  investi 
gate  thoroughly  into  all  matters  at  issue  between  the 
operators  and  miners  and  (he)  will  do  all  in  his  power  to 
obtain  a  settlement  of  these  questions  in  accordance  with 
the  report  of  the  commission. " 

On  October  I3th,  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  on  behalf  of  the 
coal  companies,  offered  to  submit  the  whole  controversy  to 
a  commission  of  five  to  be  appointed  by  the  President. 
This  commission  was  to  be  composed  of  an  engineer 
officer,  a  mining  engineer,  a  judge  of  one  of  the  federal 
courts,  a  sociologist  and  a  man  acquainted  with  the 
business  of  mining  and  transporting  coal.  The  offer  was 
accepted  by  the  men  on  October  2ist  and  they  went  to 
work  at  once.  The  President  made  five  admirable  ap 
pointments  and  added  to  them  Bishop  Spalding  and  the 
Labor  Commissioner,  Carroll  D.  Wright.  These  appoint 
ments  met  with  universal  satisfaction.  It  was  agreed  in 
the  submission  to  them  that  "all  questions  at  issue  be 
tween  the  respective  companies  and  their  own  employees, 
whether  they  belong  to  the  union  or  not,"  should  be 
decided  by  the  commission.  It  convened  October  25th, 
Judge  George  Gray  was  selected  as  Chairman.  They 
inspected  the  mines  and  the  business  of  transporting  coal, 
and  the  hearing  began  November  I4th.  Its  award  decided 
all  questions  in  difference  and  provided  a  satisfactory 
method  for  the  adjustment  of  grievances  which  might 
from  time  to  time  arise.  For  this  purpose  a  Conciliation 
Board  was^established,  composed  of  three  representatives 
of  the  employees  and  three  of  the  employers,  with  provision 
for  an  umpire  when  necessary.  One  of  its  important  pro- 


PRESIDENTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN  443 

visions  was  for  a  sliding  scale  of  wages,  to  vary  with  the 
market  price  of  coal.  The  award  was  to  continue  in  force 
until  March  31,  1906.  In  that  year,  after  much  debate, 
it  was  continued  in  force  for  three  years  more. 

When  the  strife  was  over,  Judge  Gray  said  that  the 
crisis  the  President  had  faced  "was  more  grave  and 
threatening  than  any  since  the  Civil  War,  threatening  not 
only  the  comfort  and  health,  but  the  safety  and  good  order 
of  the  nation."  The  London  Times  said:  "In  the  most 
quiet  and  unobtrusive  manner,  President  Roosevelt  has 
done  a  very  big  thing  and  an  entirely  new  thing. "  His 
success  shows  the  power  of  moral  energy  and  dauntless 
courage. 

The  one  thing  that  disappointed  me  in  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
career  as  Governor  was  his  apparent  indisposition  to 
secure  the  best  possible  men  for  appointments  to  judicial 
office.  It  so  happened  that  during  his  administrations, 
as  Governor  and  as  President,  there  were  several  vacancies 
in  the  Courts  which  he  had  to  fill.  It  is  seldom  that  the 
best  men  at  the  Bar  seek  judicial  appointment,  but  there 
were  many  leading  members  of  the  Bar  entirely  fitted 
for  judicial  office,  who  would  have  accepted  such  appoint 
ment  if  tendered.  I  represented  this  to  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
but  I  found  him  unwilling  to  give  sufficient  attention  to 
the  selection.  Undoubtedly  he  was  conscientious  in  the 
matter,  but  he  never  seemed  to  me  to  appreciate  the  im 
portance  of  the  judicial  office  and  the  true  position  of 
judges  in  the  American  system. 

My  most  interesting  experience  with  him,  when  he 
was  President,  arose  out  of  the  American  educational 


444      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

interests  in  Turkey.  There  had  been  for  years  an  Ameri 
can  college  for  girls  at  Scutari,  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the 
Bosphorus.  The  President  of  this  during  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
administration,  was,  and  still  is,  Mary  Mills  Patrick. 
The  college  building  was  burned.  After  consultation 
with  the  people  in  the  Turkish  Empire  who  were  in 
terested  in  the  college,  and  also  with  the  friends  and 
supporters  of  the  college  in  the  United  States,  it  was 
decided  that  it  would  be  better  to  rebuild  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Bosphorus.  Accordingly  land  was 
bought  in  Constantinople.  Under  the  Turkish  law, 
which  is  apparently  similar  to  the  Torrens  system  which 
prevails  in  Australia  and  some  states  of  the  Union,  it  is 
the  practice  to  file  in  the  Government  registry  the  deed 
of  real  estate  which  a  buyer  receives,  and  the  deed  to 
his  grantor,  and  to  receive  in  exchange  a  new  deed  from 
the  Government.  It  is  similar  to  the  proceedings  upon 
the  transfer  of  shares  of  stock. 

After  the  college  had  taken  possession  of  the  newly 
purchased  land  and  presented  its  deed  for  registration  to 
the  Government,  a  new  deed  was  refused  and  it  was 
stated  to  the  college  authorities  that  the  Sultan  wished 
the  land  which  they  had  bought,  as  a  residence  for  one  of 
his  daughters,  and  that  he  could  not  consent  to  the  college 
being  built  there.  Under  the  treaty  with  Turkey,  Ameri 
can  citizens  had  an  absolute  right  to  buy  land  within  the 
Turkish  Empire  and  to  occupy  and  use  the  same  for  any 
lawful  purpose.  Accordingly  the  matter  was  brought  to 
the  attention  of  Mr.  Leishman,  who  was  our  Minister  to 
the  Turkish  Court.  His  efforts  were  unavailing  and  the 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  445 

matter  was  then  brought  before  the  Secretary  of  State. 
At  this  stage  of  the  case  the  American  friends  of  the 
college  assembled,  appointed  a  committee,  of  which  I  was 
made  a  member,  and  we  went  to  Washington.  We  were 
received,  April  23,  1908  in  the  President's  Executive 
Office  by  the  President,  and  Robert  Bacon,  the  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State,  who  afterwards  became  for  a  brief 
period  Secretary  of  State  and  then  was  appointed  Am 
bassador  to  the  French  Republic.  We  stated  our  case 
and  Mr.  Roosevelt  said: 

I  wish  you  distinctly  to  understand  that  I  will  never  make 
any  threats  which  I  am  not  prepared  to  carry  out.  I  do  not 
think  that  the  public  opinion  of  the  United  States  would 
support  me  in  sending  a  fleet  to  Constantinople  to  compel 
the  Sultan  to  grant  your  request  and  give  your  college  the 
deed  you  ask,  and  I  certainly  shall  not  threaten  any  such 
action. 

To  this  we  replied  that  we  had  no  desire  that  any  such 
threat  should  be  made,  that  we  were  satisfied  that  if  the 
administration  would  insist  firmly  upon  the  rights  of 
American  citizens  under  the  treaty,  the  Turkish  Govern 
ment  would  yield. 

The  President  then  said:  "Why  do  you  not  comply 
with  the  request  of  the  Sultan  and  allow  him  to  have  this 
land  for  a  palace  for  his  daughter?" 

I  was  made  the  spokesman  to  answer  this  question  and 
replied: 

Mr.  President,  we  are  perfectly  willing  to  sell  that  land  to  the 
Sultan  when  we  get  our  deed.  We  do  not  think  he  really 
wants  it.  We  are  persuaded  that  the  objection  is  only  because 


446     SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

he  opposes  all  education  of  women  in  Turkey.  At  present 
we  are  neither  afoot  nor  on  horseback.  We  are  in  the  position 
of  a  stockholder  who  has  bought  stock  but  it  is  not  registered 
in  his  name  and  he  cannot  draw  dividends  and  cannot  vote. 
Once  we  get  our  deed  we  will  with  pleasure  negotiate  with  the 
Sultan  and  sell  him  the  land  if  he  wants  it  at  a  reasonable 
price. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  answered : 

I  wish  you  to  understand  that  Mr.  Leishman  advises  that 
you  comply  with  the  Sultan's  request  now,  and  that  if  you  go 
any  further  you  must  take  the  responsibility  of  it. 

We  conferred  among  ourselves  and  then  answered: 
1  'We  are  willing  to  take  the  responsibility."  Roose 
velt's  face  lighted  up.  He  jumped  from  his  seat,  clapped 
his  hands  and  cried, ' '  Let  her  go,  Bacon. ' '  The  cablegram 
accordingly  went.  The  rights  of  our  citizens  were  in 
sisted  upon.  William  W.  Peet,  the  efficient  treasurer  of 
the  American  Board  seconded  the  representations.  The 
Turkish  Government  yielded  and  gave  to  him,  in  August, 
1908,  the  deed  which  he  asked.  There  was  nothing  after 
wards  ever  heard  of  the  Sultan's  wanting  that  parcel 
of  land,  and  the  college  buildings  were  erected  upon  it. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Roosevelt  at  the  White  House 
was  in  1908.  He  had  been  busy  with  his  Secretary  in 
the  private  room  in  the  west  wing  of  the  White  House 
and  came  out  into  the  reception-room  which  by  that  time 
had  thirty  or  forty  people  in  it,  waiting  for  an  interview. 
He  passed  from  one  to  another  with  ease,  taking  up  the 
matter  which  each  had  in  hand,  disposed  of  it  courteously 
and  quickly,  and  passed  on  to  the  next.  In  the  space  of 


PRESIDENTS   I   HAVE  KNOWN  447 

perhaps  twenty  minutes  he  had  given  a  pleasant  inter 
view  to  thirty  visitors.  Then  Mr.  Mcllhenny,  of  Louisi 
ana,  one  of  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners,  appeared. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  sent  for  me  to  have  a  conversation  with 
him  in  regard  to  the  amendment  of  the  classification 
which  the  National  Civil  Service  League  had  been  urging, 
to  include  within  the  classified  service,  postmasters  of 
the  fourth  class.  The  Commissioner  said  to  me  that 
social  conditions  were  such  in  the  South  that  it  was 
impossible  to  have  a  satisfactory  service  if  colored  men 
were  to  be  postmasters;  that  whatever  one  might  think  of 
the  feeling  on  this  subject,  it  was  an  actual  fact,  which 
had  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  that  therefore  it  would  be 
inexpedient  to  bring  Southern  postmasters  into  the  classi 
fied  service.  He  said  that  there  were  many  bright  colored 
men  in  the  South  who  had  been  educated  at  Tuskegee, 
Hampton  or  other  institutions,  who  were  perfectly  com 
petent  for  the  position  of  postmaster  and  could  pass  the 
examinations,  but  that  owing  to  the  state  of  feeling  in  the 
South,  they  could  not  do  the  business  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  neighborhood.  I  answered  him  that  I  did  not 
sympathize  with  this  prejudice,  but  that  I  recognized 
that  it  existed,  both  North  and  South  and  that  it  seemed 
to  me  it  was  a  good  reason  for  not  including  the  Southern 
postmasters  in  the  classified  service. 

Just  then  the  President  came  up  and  in  his  nonchalant 
manner  said,  "I  hope  I  don't  intrude,"  and  took  up  the 
conversation  just  where  it  was.  He  authorized  me  to 
say  to  the  Civil  Service  League  that  he  had  decided  to 
include  fourth-class  postmasters  in  the  Northern  States 


448      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

in  the  classified  service.     This  was  shortly  afterwards 
done. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  did  a  great  deal  while  he  was  President 
to  extend  the  scope  and  efficiency  of  the  system.  The  only 
point  in  which  the  council  of  the  Civil  Service  League 
criticized  his  action  was  in  reference  to  certain  exceptions 
in  individual  cases  which  he  had  made  to  the  rules.  It 
is  easy  to  see  that  making  such  exceptions  is  liable  to 
abuse.  Yet  I  know  from  my  own  experience  as  Civil 
Service  Commissioner,  that  in  possibly  one  case  in  a 
thousand  the  making  such  an  exception  does  promote  the 
efficiency  of  the  service  and  does  justice  to  a  deserving 
applicant. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CHANGES   IN   SIXTY  YEARS 

THE  United  States  in  1850  was  in  a  condition  so  differ 
ent  from  the  present  that  it  is  hard  to  realize  that  the 
change  should  have  taken  place  in  one  lifetime.  There 
were  then  31  States  in  the  Union.  There  are  now  48. 
Our  population  in  1850  was  23,191,876.  In  1910  it  was 
91,972,266,  exclusive  of  that  in  the  Pacific  possessions. 
It  was  in  1915  estimated  by  the  Census  Bureau  at  101, 
151,000.  At  that  time  our  territory  was  compact.  We 
have  now  Alaska,  Porto  Rico,  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
and  the  Philippines.  We  have  constructed  the  canal 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  acquired  the  Canal 
Zone.  We  had  then  only  a  few  miles  of  electric  tele 
graph,  no  transatlantic  cables,  few  steamship  lines, 
few  railroads,  and  the  telephone  and  wireless  telegraph 
were  not  thought  of. 

The  most  remarkable  political  change  is  in  the  relation 
of  the  Federal  Government  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
country.  The  different  States  were  then  tenacious  of 
their  State  rights.  Domestic  slavery  was  permitted 
by  the  laws  of  fifteen  of  them.  The  functions  of  the 
Federal  Government  were  limited.  The  national  bank 
which  had  been  established  at  the  foundation  of  the 
29  449 


450     SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Government  and  again  in  1816,  was  no  more.  There 
were  no  national  banks  of  any  sort.  The  circulating  me 
dium  was  composed  in  the  main  of  notes  issued  by  State 
banks,  which  circulated  in  different  parts  of  the  country 
with  varying  degrees  of  credit  and  subject  to  smaller 
or  larger  discounts.  Even  the  silver  currency,  in  fact, 
was  mainly  Spanish  and  not  American. 

Let  me  now  specify  some  of  the  important  changes 
in  social  and  material  conditions,  and  in  religious  life. 

I.      HOUSES 

The  houses  in  which  people  live  are  far  more  com 
fortable  than  they  were  in  1840.  There  were  then  few 
houses  in  which  there  was  running  water.  There  were  no 
water-closets  and  no  stationary  bathtubs.  Houses  were 
lighted  by  candles  and  by  lamps  supplied  with  sperm  oil. 
The  sewerage  of  New  York  and  of  most  American  cities 
was  mainly  surface  drainage,  like  that  which  was  con 
tinued  in  Baltimore  until  1912.  The  gutters  were  kennels, 
as  Shakespeare  called  them.  Now  we  have  an  ample 
supply  of  water  on  every  floor.  It  is  the  inferior  tene 
ment  houses  that  have  no  bathtubs.  All  of  them  have 
water-closets.  We  have  kerosene  oil  for  lamps.  This 
product  of  American  skill  goes  all  over  the  world,  and  is  as 
much  in  demand  in  China  as  it  is  in  Arizona.  Indeed 
the  thrifty  Chinese  not  only  use  the  oil,  but  use  the  tin 
cans  in  which  it  is  shipped,  for  carrying  water  and  other 
liquids. 

The  invention  of  the  elevator  has  simplified  the  problem 
of  life  not  only  in  houses,  but  in  office  buildings.  When  I 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  451 

began  the  practice  of  the  law  in  1859  these  had  not  been 
introduced,  and  lawyers,  clients  and  witnesses  often 
had  to  walk  up  three  or  more  flights  of  stairs  before  the 
city  office  was  reached.  It  was  easier  in  the  country. 

The  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  steel  invented 
by  Bessemer,  and  developed  by  his  successors,  have 
reduced  the  cost  of  steel  and  made  possible  the  con 
struction  of  buildings  with  steel  frame  work.  The  build 
ing  at  45  Broadway  was  the  last  large  office  building  in 
New  York  City  in  which  the  walls  supported  the  structure. 
That  was  built  about  1880.  Now  in  large  buildings  the 
wall  is  merely  a  curtain.  The  building  itself  would  stand 
as  well  without  any  walls.  All  this  has  made  possible 
the  concentration  of  business  to  a  degree  that  before  was 
impracticable.  It  gives  New  York  the  picturesque  aspect 
which  it  presents  from  the  Harbor.  Fifty  years  ago  the 
highest  point  that  man  had  attained  in  his  construction 
on  Manhattan  Island,  and  the  most  conspicuous  object  as 
the  City  was  approached,  was  the  spire  of  Trinity  Church. 
This  is  now  masked  by  lofty  buildings.  One  disadvant 
age  of  this  method  of  construction  is  that  many  of  the 
narrow  streets  in  lower  New  York  have  been  converted 
into  canons;  the  lower  stories  are  darkened  and  the  streets 
themselves  at  the  busy  times  of  day  uncomfortably 
crowded. 

Heating  by  steam  and  hot  water  has  been  introduced 
with  consequent  economy  of  fuel  and  increased  cleanli 
ness.  In  all  conditions  of  society  the  importance  of 
cleanliness  is  realized  now  as  it  was  not  seventy  years 
ago. 


452      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

2.      PARKS    AND    PAVEMENTS 

The  site  of  Central  Park  in  New  York  City  in  1850  was 
an  irregular  surface  of  rock,  meadow  and  pond,  with 
some  shanties  and  market  gardens,  but  on  the  whole 
ragged  and  poorly  cultivated.  It  was  planned  in  1851, 
was  laid  out  by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Calvert 
Vaux,  and  gradually,  as  it  was  completed,  was  thrown  open 
to  the  public.  It  is  now  a  beautiful  and  varied  landscape. 
This  example  has  been  followed  in  every  great  city 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  These  Parks  and  play 
grounds  are  a  benediction  to  countless  millions.  There 
was  nothing  like  them  in  America  seventy  years  ago. 

In  1850  the  best  paving  in  any  street  in  New  York  was 
the  cobble  stone.  The  Belgian  block  pavement  was 
introduced  by  Russ  and  Reid  about  1857.  It  was  known 
as  the  Russ  pavement.  This  is  now  largely  replaced  by 
asphalt.  In  those  days  our  method  of  public  transit  was 
the  horse  omnibus,  which  gradually  was  displaced  by  the 
horse  car.  We  did,  however,  in  winter  have  stage  sleighs 
drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  which  ran  along  Broadway 
when  there  was  snow.  This  particular  bit  of  fun  we 
have  no  longer. 

3.      ELECTRICITY 

In  the  City  College  in  1855  Professor  Doremus  showed 
us  the  Jablochoff  candle,  the  light  of  which  was  furnished 
by  a  powerful  electric  battery  at  great  expense.  What 
produced  the  electric  current  in  that  case  was  the  com 
bustion  of  the  zinc  plates  of  the  batteries.  Doremus 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  453 

said  that  it  was  an  ingenious  and  brilliant  philosophical 
experiment  and  that  probably  improvements  might  be 
made  which  would  enable  cities  to  be  lighted  by  electricity, 
but  that  none  of  us  could  expect  to  see  this.  Now  we 
find  the  dynamo  in  every  city  of  importance  and  in  many 
villages.  Indeed  in  many  of  these  there  is  no  gas,  and 
electric  light  is  the  only  light  which  is  furnished  by  the 
municipality.  Gas,  kerosene  oil  and  electricity  are  all 
used  for  heating  and  power  as  well  as  for  lighting.  One 
hundred  years  ago  there  was  no  royal  palace  which  had  the 
comforts  that  are  now  provided  for  the  plain  people 
in  the  improved  tenement  houses  of  New  York  and 
other  great  cities. 

In  connection  with  the  enormous  improvements  in  the 
application  of  electric  power,  the  machinery  by  which 
water  power  is  used  for  the  generation  of  electricity  should 
not  be  forgotten.  In  1850  water  was  used  as  it  had  been 
for  thousands  of  years,  to  turn  wheels.  Now  in  the  tur 
bine  it  is  used  effectively  to  generate  electricity  and  thus 
power  can  be  transmitted  at  a  high  tension  for  long  dis 
tances  and  then  by  means  of  a  transformer  is  brought  down 
to  a  tension  which  is  available  for  use,  even  in  private 
houses. 

4.      RAILWAYS  AND  RAPID  TRANSIT 

In  1850  there  were  no  through  railway  routes.  In 
going  from  New  York  to  Washington,  the  traveler 
was  obliged  either  to  cross  a  ferry  over  the  Delaware 
River  at  Camden,  or,  if  he  went  by  the  United  Rail 
ways  of  New  Jersey,  to  ride  in  a  horse  car  through 


454      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Philadelphia  to  the  Station  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wilming 
ton  and  Baltimore  Railroad.  He  was  drawn  through 
Baltimore  by  horses.  There  were  no  sleeping  cars. 
An  invention  came  in  1857  which  promised  to  have  a  great 
run  until  the  sleeping  car  superseded  it.  This  was  a 
portable  head  rest  which  a  traveler  could  carry  in  his  bag 
and  screw  on  the  back  of  the  seat  and  thus  support  his 
head  during  the  long  hours  of  the  night.  The  Civil  War 
compelled  improvement  in  railway  transportation  and 
sleeping  cars  were  invented,  far  less  comfortable,  however, 
than  those  which  we  now  have.  It  must  be  said  that 
since  the  Pullman  Company  has  acquired  a  virtual  mo 
nopoly  of  the  sleeping  car  business  in  this  country,  there 
have  been  few  improvements.  This  company  has  practi 
cally  compelled  submission  from  railroads  which  at  one 
time  had  their  own  sleeping  car  service,  by  procuring  the 
refusal  from  other  railroads  to  handle  the  sleepers  of  those 
particular  roads,  and  so  debarring  them  from  running 
through  to  points  beyond  their  own  line. 

The  reader  may  think  that  the  invention  of  the  auto 
mobile  has  not  been  an  unmixed  improvement.  Certain 
it  is  that  even  twenty  years  ago  there  were  none  of  these 
vehicles  which  now  enable  a  private  individual  to  outdo 
the  old  private  coaches  of  the  English  nobility  and  gentry. 
"The  tread  of  the  Tantivy  trot,'*  was  exhilarating  and 
the  speed  was  good,  but  for  a  journey,  twelve  miles 
an  hour  was  certainly  the  limit.  It  seems  impossible  to 
limit  the  speed  of  the  automobile,  or  the  audacity  of 
chauffeurs. 

The  flying  machines  which  are  now  used  in  civilized 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  455 

countries  are  a  great  advance  upon  the  hot-air  balloon  of 
Montgolfier,  1783.  I  once  tried  going  up  in  a  balloon  in 
Paris,  and  found  the  sensation  very  agreeable.  The 
motion  was  so  steady  that  we  appeared  motionless,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  the  earth  were  sinking  away.  The  view  at 
the  altitude  of  1000  metres  was  certainly  delightful.  I 
have  never  tried  a  flying  machine  and  never  expect  to, 
but  one  gazes  upon  these  great  mechanical  birds  with 
interest  and  astonishment/ 

5.      STEAMSHIPS 

When  first  I  crossed  the  Atlantic,  in  June,  1865,  I 
sailed  on  the  steamship  China,  the  first  screw  steamer  that 
the  Cunarders  had  brought  out.1  She  left  Boston  on 
Wednesday  morning,  was  detained  six  hours  at  Halifax, 
and  reached  Liverpool  on  the  evening  of  the  second 
Friday.  This  was  the  quickest  passage  that  up  to  that 
time  had  been  made  from  Boston  to  Liverpool. 

One  vessel  had  been  built  which  was  so  much  ahead  of 
her  time  that  she  proved  a  commercial  failure.  This  was 
the  Great  Eastern,  which  sailed  into  New  York  Harbor 
in  1859.  She  was  designed  by  J.  Scott  Russell  on  the 
principle  of  construction  Brunei  had  adopted  in  the 
tubular  bridge  over  the  Menai  Strait  and  was  one  of 
the  strongest  vessels  ever  built.  She  was  680  feet  long, 

1  She  was  326  feet  long,  40  feet  5^2  inches  beam,  2539  tons,  2250  horse 
power,  average  speed  13.9  knots. 

The  Africa  on  which  I  returned  in  1865  was  a  paddle  steamer,  brought 
out  in  1850 — 266  feet  long,  40  feet  beam,  2226  tons,  2400  horse-power,  aver 
age  speed  twelve  and  a  half  knots,  shorter  than  the  submarine  Deutschland 
which  has  in  June,  1916,  brought  a  cargo  from  Bremen  to  Baltimore. 


456      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

83  feet  beam,  and  58  feet  deep,  24,000  tons  register. 
She  had  both  paddle  wheels  and  a  screw  propeller, 
beside  seven  masts  on  which  sail  was  carried.  The 
paddle  engines  were  of  the  oscillating  type.  I  made 
a  trip  in  her  to  Cape  May  in  1859.  As  I  stood  in  the 
engine  room  and  looked  up  through  the  open  hatch  fifty 
feet  above  my  head,  the  stars  seemed  brighter  and  more 
remote  than  ever.  The  four  great  cylinders,  hung  on 
trunnions,  swung  back  and  forth  in  their  regular  path  with 
steadiness  and  majesty. 

She  carried  10,000  passengers  on  that  trip.  Most  of 
us  slept  on  mattresses  and  provided  our  own  blankets. 
That  was  the  agreement,  but  there  were  many  grumblers 
when  we  arrived  at  Cape  May.  To  me  the  trip  was  ideal. 

But  she  was  too  large  for  the  trade  that  then  existed 
between  Europe  and  America;  too  deep  for  the  old  ship 
channel  out  of  New  York  Harbor.  The  only  profitable 
business  she  ever  did  was  in  laying  successive  Atlantic 
submarine  cables  in  1865  and  subsequently.  But  her 
owners  raised  their  price — the  Transatlantic  Telegraph 
Company  threw  up  the  Charter  and  built  a  cable  ship  of 
their  own,  the  Faraday — the  Great  Eastern  went  out  of 
commission,  and  was  finally  broken  up. 

A  great  improvement  in  ocean  steamer  comfort  was 
made  in  the  boats  of  the  White  Star  Line  which  came  out 
in  1871.  These  had  ajnominal  horse-power  of  2600,  and  a 
tonnage  of  2376.  They  had  the  dining-room  amidships, 
and  provided  bathrooms  and  napkins.  At  the  most  they 
could  not  carry  over  1000  persons,  including  the  crew. 
Then  came  the  Britannic  and  the  Germanic  in  1875. 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  457 

These  made  the  passage  from  New  York  to  Queenstown  in 
an  average  of  about  seven  days  and  a  half.  They  were 
455  feet  long,  45  feet  beam  with  a  tonnage  of  8500. 

In  1889  the  Majestic  and  Teutonic  were  brought  out; 
582  feet  long,  twin  screw,  and  a  gross  tonnage  of  nearly 
10,000.  They  had  accommodation  for  300  saloon  passen 
gers,  150  second  cabin  and  750  steerage.  The  convenience 
of  the  cabins  had  steadily  improved.  In  1865  the  only 
light  was  furnished  by  oil  lamps,  which  were  extinguished 
every  night  at  nine  o'clock.  The  Majestic  and  Teutonic 
were  lighted  by  electric  light.  These  ships  were  sub 
divided  by  water-tight  bulk-heads  and  were  so  arranged 
that  twelve  guns  could  be  mounted  on  each  ship. 

With  the  advent  of  twin  screws  the  sails  and  spars  of 
the  older  ships  were  discarded.  It  was  felt  that  it  was 
practically  impossible  that  both  engines  should  break 
down.  So  the  modern  steamers  have  only  pole  masts 
which  serve  as  derricks  for  handling  freight. 

About  this  time  bilge  keels  were  introduced,  parallel 
with  the  main  keel.  These  checked  rolling  which  was  the 
most  disagreeable  feature  of  the  earlier  ships.  A  friend 
of  mine  who  was  on  the  Great  Eastern  in  the  storm  in  which 
she  broke  her  rudder  gear,  told  me  that  she  rolled  at  times 
with  such  violence  as  to  strike  the  high  waves  with  her 
paddle  box. 

The  other  ocean  steamship  lines  kept  pace  with  the 
White  Star.  The  Campania  of  the  Cunard  Line,  which 
came  out  in  1893,  was  600  feet  long  and  65  feet  beam.  Four 
years  afterwards  came  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  (of  the  North 
German  Lloyd)  with  a  length  of  625  feet,  beam  66  and 


458      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

tonnage  20,000.  Then  in  1899  appeared  the  Oceanic  of 
the  White  Star  Line,  which  was  the  largest  ship  that  had 
been  constructed,  24  feet  longer  than  the  Great  Eastern. 
She  was  704  feet  long,  68  feet  beam,  tonnage  28,500.  She 
could  accommodate  2100  persons  in  all.  That  is  to  say, 
410  first-class  passengers,  300  second-class,  1000  third- 
class,  and  390  crew  and  stewards.  The  tops  of  her  long 
funnels  were  140  feet  above  the  keel.  Captain  Cameron 
expressed  to  me  his  sense  of  deep  responsibility  for  the 
great  steamer  and  the  myriad  souls  that  were  entrusted 
to  his  care.  He  was  one  of  the  best  officers  that  ever 
trod  a  deck.  In  1879  he  commanded  the  old  Celtic. 
We  arrived  at  the  port  of  Liverpool  after  sunset,  on 
Saturday  evening.  Ten  other  steamers  had  been  waiting 
but  none  had  ventured  over  the  bar.  Cameron  knew  his 
channel  perfectly.  He  put  a  man  in  the  leads  and  led  the 
entire  fleet  up  the  Mersey  Channel. 

In  1902  there  came  the  merger  of  the  White  Star  and 
other  lines  into  the  International  Steam  Navigation 
Company.  They  had  a  total  number  of  ships  of  118,  and 
a  tonnage  of  881,562.  Their  ships  were  less  numerous 
than  those  of  either  the  Hamburg-American  or  the  North 
German  Lloyd.  The  former  had  136  ships  with  tonnage 
of  688,000  and  the  latter  120  ships  with  tonnage  556,178. 
The  Hamburg-American  Line  thus  maintained  its  claim  to 
be  the  greatest  steamship  line  in  the  world. 

Meanwhile  American  shipyards  were  not  idle.  In  1904 
the  Manchuria,  built  in  the  Cramp  Yards  at  Philadelphia, 
steamed  round  Cape  Horn  and  went  into  the  Pacific  trade. 
She  had  a  length  of  616  feet,  a  breadth  of  65  feet  and 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  459 

tonnage  of  27,000.  Then ,  the  North  German  Lloyd  un 
dertook  to  bring  out  the  fastest  ship  afloat,  and  we  saw 
the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  the  Second  come  into  the  Port  of  New 
York.  She  made  the  run  from  Eddy  stone  Light  to  Sandy 
Hook,  3112  miles,  in  five  days,  eleven  hours  and  fifty- 
eight  minutes  with  an  average  speed  of  23.58  nautical 
miles  per  hour. 

The  White  Star  Line  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  very  fast  ships  were  not  the  most  profitable  and  they 
brought  out  the  Baltic,  in  1904,  which  was  then  the  larg 
est  ship  afloat,  725  feet  long,  75  feet  beam,  with  accommo 
dation  for  3010  passengers. 

All  this  time  these  steamers  had  been  increasing  their 
height  above  water.  The  main  deck  of  the  China,  in 
1865,  was  certainly  not  over  twenty  feet  above  the  water, 
and  she  had  no  upper  decks.  The  Baltic  had  nine  decks, 
her  sun  deck  being  88  feet  above  the  keel,  and  55  feet 
above  the  water,  when  the  vessel  was  at  her  deepest 
draught  of  33  feet.  This  change  in  construction  enabled 
the  companies  to  put  all  their  staterooms  amidships 
with  portholes  generally  open,  to  the  great  comfort  of 
passengers. 

Turbine  engines  began  to  be  tried  for  the  ocean.  The 
Victorian,  of  the  Allan  Line,  was  the  first  vessel  driven 
across  the  Atlantic  by  these  engines.  She  reached 
Halifax  April  I,  1905.  In  1906  came  out  the  Lusitania 
and  the  Mauretania,  which  remained  the  fastest  passenger 
steamers  afloat,  until  the  Lusitania  was  sunk  by  a 
German  submarine  in  1915  and  the  Mauretania  was  laid 
up.  They  were  brought  out  by  the  Cunard  Line.  The 


460      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

Lusitania  had  turbine  engines,  the  Mauretania  recipro 
cating  engines.  Each  of  these  ships  was  790  feet  long 
and  88  feet  beam.  They  had  accommodation  for  2350 
passengers  and  a  crew  of  about  800.  Their  horse-power 
was  68,000;  nearly  seven  times  that  of  the  Great  Eastern. 
They  had  four  propellers  and  the  total  thrust  on  these 
four  propellers  was  equal  to  the  total  pull  of  thirty-two 
modern  American  freight  engines.  These  vessels  burned 
about  1000  tons  of  coal  a  day.  The  White  Star  steamers 
of  1871  burned  about  70  tons  a  day. 

In  1907  the  Ambrose  Channel  leading  over  the  shoals 
of  the  lower  bay  to  Sandy  Hook  was  completed  by  the 
United  States  Government,  and  the  Caronia,  of  the 
Cunard  Line,  was  the  first  large  vessel  to  pass  through  it, 
August  27,  1907.  This  channel  is  straight,  seven  miles 
long  (about  half  the  length  of  the  Ship,  or  old  Horse-shoe, 
Channel),  1000  feet  wide,  35  teet  deep.  The  depth  has 
been  since  increased  to  forty  feet. 

In  June,  1909,  the  Mauretania  landed  her  passengers  in 
London  in  five  days  and  four  hours  from  New  York.  Mr. 
Richardson,  one  of  the  great  firm  of  Swan,  Hunter,  Wig- 
ham  &  Richardson,  shipbuilders  of  Newcastle  on  Tyne, 
who  built  her,  told  me  that  she  had  the  greatest  average 
speed  of  any  steamer.  He  had  an  exact  model  made  of 
her  hull  and  made  a  special  study  with  this  model  of  the 
most  desirable  location  for  the  four  screws.  After  trying 
out  the  model  with  the  location  in  various  parts  of  the  hull, 
he  finally  determined  upon  that  which  was  actually 
adopted.  To  this,  in  his  judgment,  the  great  speed  of 
the  Mauretania  was  largely  due. 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  461 

But  there  were  greater  things  still  to  come.  In  June, 
1912,  the  White  Star  Olympic  reached  the  port  of  New 
York.  She  was  882^  feet  long,  99^"  feet  beam,  45,000  regis 
tered  tonnage.  The  top  of  her  funnels  was  175  feet  above 
her  keel.  She  carried  a  crew  of  850,  and  accommodated 
2650  passengers.  All  this  is  outdone  by  the  Hamburg 
steamer,  Imperator,  919  feet  long,  98  feet  beam,  50,000 
registered  tons.  She  reached  New  York  in  June,  1913. 
She  has  essentially  a  double  hull.  Warned  by  the  sinking 
of  the  Titanic  she  is  so  built  that  even  if  the  outer  hull 
were  punctured,  the  entire  hull  would  remain  water 
tight.  The  Olympic  also  has  been  rebuilt  with  a  double 
hull. 

One  of  the  improvements  in  these  newer  steamers  is 
the  service  of  meals  a  la  carte.  All  that  skill  and  taste 
can  do,  or  luxury  require,  is  done  in  them.  The  Imperator 
carries  three  captains,  one  with  the  rank  of  Commodore; 
one  of  whom  will  always  be  on  the  bridge.  Her  speed 
was  fixed  so  that  passengers  will  arrive  in  London 
and  Paris  on  the  sixth  day,  and  Hamburg  and  Berlin  on 
the  seventh  day  after  leaving  New  York.  Alas!  the 
dreadful  war  of  1914  has  kept  her  in  port  for  over  two 
years. 

One  improvement  which  is  being  introduced,  remains  to 
be  noticed :  the  use  of  oil  instead  of  coal  for  fuel.  Some  of 
the  new  war  ships  are  oil  burners  instead  of  coal  burners. 
In  August,  1912,  the  Krupps  built  at  the  German  Dock 
Yard  at  Kiel  a  motor-driven  vessel  intended  to  transport 
oil  from  the  United  States.  She  has  a  carrying  capacity 
of  15,000  tons  of  oil,  is  420  feet  long,  and  65  feet  wide. 


462      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

She  has  Diesel  motors,  which  develop  1800  horse-power 
and  give  a  speed  of  10  knots. 

In  this  wonderful  story  of  the  triumph  of  man  over  the 
forces  of  the  winds  and  waves,  we  can  read  between  the 
lines  the  growth  of  wealth,  luxury,  commerce  and  travel 
during  the  last  fifty  years. 

6.   TELEGRAPHS 

In  1837  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  an  American  painter, 
made  an  electric  telegraph  instrument  using  the  electro 
magnet,  which  Henry  had  invented  in  1828.  He  set  this 
up  in  the  old  Marble  Building  of  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York  on  Washington  Square,  long  since  demolished. 
The  first  real  test  of  the  practicability  of  this  invention 
was  made  on  a  line  of  wire  from  Baltimore  to  Washington, 
May  27,  1844.  The  first  message  was — "What  hath  God 
wrought. " 

Morse  offered  to  sell  the  invention  to  the  United  States 
Government  but  our  representatives  had  no  faith  in  it. 
So  he  went  ahead,  secured  capital  from  those  who  had 
faith,  and  we  have  the  electric  telegraph  all  over  the 
world.  In  the  hand  of  the  bronze  statue  erected  to  him 
at  the  Seventy-second  Street  entrance  to  Central  Park, 
there  is  a  model  of  the  Morse  instrument  with  the  strip 
of  paper  upon  which  the  message  was  at  first  recorded. 

Then  an  operator  discovered  that  he  could  read  the 
message  by  ear,  and  the  recording  telegraph  went 
out  of  use  except  as  we  have  it  in  the  stock  exchange 
tickers. 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  463 

Then  came  the  Bell  telephone,  in  which  the  tones  of 
the  voice  of  the  sender  could  be  distinguished  by  the 
receiver.  Then  followed  the  greatest  wonder  of  all,  the 
wireless  telegraph  of  Marconi.  One  application  of  this 
system  is  not  generally  appreciated.  There  are  many 
tropical  countries  in  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
maintain  telegraph  poles  or  wires.  In  these  the  wireless 
telegraph  has  been  introduced  and  enables  messages  to 
be  sent  through  the  air  without  interference  from  the 
elements. 

7.      EDUCATION 

In  previous  chapters  I  have  given  some  account  of  the 
great  improvements  that  have  taken  place  in  my  time 
in  municipal  and  national  government ;  particularly  in  the 
application  of  the  civil  service  methods  to  the  selection 
of  government  employees.  When  we  consider  the  world 
of  education  the  improvement  is  as  marked.  Not  only 
has  there  been  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  univer 
sities  and  schools  for  the  higher  education,  but  the  pri 
mary  school  system  has  reached  a  development  in  this 
country  and  in  most  other  civilized  countries  which  no 
one  anticipated  seventy  years  ago.  In  every  civilized 
country,  primary  education  is  now  within  the  reach 
of  the  poorest.  Great  sums  of  money  are  appropriated 
by  government.  In  many  countries,  school  books  are 
furnished  free  of  expense.  The  period  of  school  instruc 
tion  which  in  my  boyhood  was  often  not  more  than  five 
months  in  the  year,  is  now  extended  to  ten.  In  New 


464      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

England  the  terms  of  colleges  were  formerly  so  arranged 
that  students  could  teach  a  country  district  school  in  the 
winter  and  another  in  the  summer,  and  at  the  same  time 
pursue  their  regular  curriculum.  In  this  manner  many 
worked  their  way  through  college.  Now  we  have  regu 
larly  trained  teachers  who  give  their  whole  force  and 
energies  to  the  work  of  instruction.  As  for  the  equipment 
of  laboratories  and  other  facilities  for  scientific  study 
in  colleges  and  universities,  there  is  no  comparison. 
Indeed  until  the  foundation  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer 
sity  in  1875,  the  money  for  which  was  given  by  Johns 
Hopkins,  and  which  was  organized  by  Daniel  C.  Oilman, 
there  was  no  real  university  in  the  United  States.  Now 
Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia,  Cornell,  Princeton,  fairly  claim 
this  title.  So  may  some  of  the  great  State  universities, 
which  no  longer  are  such  only  in  name,  but  maintain 
professional  schools  of  the  first  rank. 

It  is  true  that  much  remains  to  be  done  in  the  line  of 
vocational  training  and  in  thoroughness  of  all  training. 
Too  much  attention  is  paid  to  instruction  from  books. 
The  attempt  is  made  to  cover  too  much  ground.  Boys 
and  girls  are  often  kept  on  text-books,  when  they  ought  to 
be  learning  a  trade  or  studying  how  to  earn  their  own  liv 
ing,  when  they  are  older.  Our  unfortunate  experience  in 
the  Southern  States,  during  the  period  of  reconstruction, 
should  have  taught  us  better.  We  are  learning  much 
from  Germany,  which  has  probably  done  more  than  any 
other  country  in  the  arts  and  crafts.1 

1  The  following  table  shows  the  growth  of  public  education  in  New  York 
City.  It  could  be  paralleled  in  many  other  cities. 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS 

8.      MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 


465 


In  this  sphere  progress  has  been  marked.  The  intro 
duction  of  ether  as  an  anesthetic  in  1846  saved  men  and 
women  from  unspeakable  suffering  and  made  possible 
surgical  operations  which,  under  the  old  system,  were 
impossible.  The  story  of  General  Herkimer  smoking  his 
pipe  while  his  leg  was  being  amputated  after  the  battle  of 
Oriskany,  seems  now  almost  an  old-world  fable. 

Pasteur's  introduction  of  the  antiseptic  treatment, 
his  study  of  the  germs  which  have  in  the  past  been  the 
cause  of  such  dreadful  diseases  and  have  often  caused 
death  after  surgical  operations,  has  been  effective  in  two 
ways.  It  has  enabled  the  wise  physician  to  prevent 
disease,  and  it  has  enabled  the  surgeon  so  to  treat  his 
patient  after  an  operation,  that  recovery  is  almost  certain. 
As  a  consequence,  plagues  like  yellow  fever  have  been 
banished  from  many  ports  which  before  were  almost 
uninhabitable.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  con 
struction  of  the  Panama  Canal  would  have  been  impossible 


1855 

19^5 

Number  of  schools 

214, 

CAQ 

Number  of  pupils: 
Whole  number  taught.  . 

I  12.5OO 

865  056 

Average  daily  attendance  

4.5.QQ2 

""Of^O" 

702.856 

Invested  property: 
Sites  ;  

$    4.06,180 

$11.7II.5l6 

Buildings  

808.1^6 

96,696,101 

Equipment  

not  given 

22,007,050 

Appropriation  for  schools  

760,676 

19,000,14.0 

This  last  figure  is  about  one-fifth  of  the  whole  budget,   which  is  for 
1915,  $198,989,786. 


466     SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

without  the  sanitary  measures  of  which  Pasteur  is  the 
father,  and  which  our  great  American,  Dr.  Gorgas,  has 
developed  to  such  an  extraordinary  degree. 

Again  the  extension  of  the  discovery  of  Jenner  that 
smallpox  could  be  prevented  by  inoculation,  followed  up, 
as  it  was,  by  the  discovery  of  vaccination,  led  the  physi 
cians  of  our  time  to  further  investigations.  They  have 
shown  how  to  inoculate  for  typhoid  and  other  pestilential 
diseases. 

Typhoid  fever,  which  before  1908  had  been  fought  with 
every  weapon  known  to  modern  science  and  still  lurked  in 
every  community,  is  now  put  to  rout  in  open  combat  by  the 
aid  of  its  own  dead  bacteria.  The  illuminating  light  of  dis 
covery  makes  possible  the  immunization  of  an  army  of  85,000 
men  against  a  disease  which  is  more  prevalent  in  this  country 
than  in  most  civilized  countries  and  causes  a  yearly  loss  of 
something  like  $350,000,000,  and  untold  suffering — a  disease 
which  has  been  the  scourge  of  our  army  and  has  killed  and 
maimed  more  than  powder  and  shot.  This  same  disease 
was  directly  responsible  for  an  outlay  of  $20,000,000  in  the 
British  South  African  War,  and  has  been  the  cause  of  great 
suffering  and  financial  loss  for  many  years  among  all  peoples 
in  every  climate,  in  peace  and  in  war."1 

The  Japanese,  availed  of  these  improvements  in  surgery 
and  medicine  to  such  a  degree  that  the  percentage  of 
deaths  from  wounds  and  disease  during  their  war  with 
Russia  was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Where,  in  1850,  there  was  one  hospital  and  dispensary, 
there  are  now  twenty.  Medical  and  surgical  aid  is  brought 
within  the  reach  of  the  poorest.  We  may  justly  say 

1  Nat.  Geographic  Mag.,  Oct.,  1913,  p.  1146. 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  467 

that  through  the  skill  that  God  has  given  to  man  and  the 
untiring,  self-denying  industry  of  physicians  and  surgeons, 
miracles  are  renewed.  The  blind  receive  their  sight,  the 
sick,  apparently  even  the  dying,  are  healed,  the  lame 
walk,  the  dumb  speak  and  the  deaf  hear.  As  I  walk 
past  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  on  Madison  Avenue  and 
Seventieth  Street  and  see  the  crowd  about  the  door  before 
the  dispensary  opens,  I  am  reminded  of  the  multi 
tudes  that  thronged  about  the  door  of  Christ's  house  in 
Capernaum. 

9.      RELIGION 

The  progress  of  religious  work  has  been  equally  marked. 
The  command  that  Christ  gave  his  disciples  to  teach  all 
nations,  which  Wellington  called  the  "marching  orders  of 
the  Christian  Church,"  has  been  obeyed  to  a  degree 
unexampled  since  the  first  century.  The  conduct  of 
Christian  missions  has  become  more  and  more  enlightened. 
The  old  conception  that  the  object  of  missions  was  to  save 
the  heathen  from  eternal  punishment,  has  pretty  much 
disappeared.  The  positive  side  of  Christianity  has 
been  developed.  In  many  heathen  countries  intelligent 
sanitary  methods,  the  proper  use  of  medicine  and  sur 
gery,  and  of  the  other  modern  improvements  to  which 
I  have  referred,  have  been  introduced  by  missionaries. 
The  wonderful  progress  of  Japan  and  China  is  largely  due 
to  Christian  ideals.  In  the  outset  the  attitude  was  too 
often  that  of  antagonism  to  the  ideals  of  the  native  people. 
Christian  peoples  have  now  come  to  realize  that  in  these 
also  there  is  good  and  that  progress  can  best  be  insured 


468      SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

by  sympathetic  and  appreciative  study  of  all  that  is  good 
in  the  traditions  of  the  Orient. 

In  the  Christian  Church  itself  there  has  been  a  marked 
abatement  of  bigotry  and  prejudice.  In  that  branch  of 
the  Church  to  which  I  belong,  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  there  has  been  an  increase  in  unity  and 
cooperation.  The  same  is  true  in  other  denominations 
of  Christians  in  every  Christian  country.  Federations 
of  Churches  are  being  formed  among  Protestants.  The 
prejudice  in  the  Protestant  mind  against  the  Roman 
Catholic  and  the  Greek  Catholic  church  has  greatly  di 
minished.  It  seems  incredible  now  to  read  of  the  passion 
which  led  in  1845  to  the  burning  of  the  Convent  in 
Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  The  Episcopal  General 
Convention  of  1910,  and  again  in  1913,  exchanged  cordial 
messages  of  sympathy  and  greeting  with  other  religious 
bodies  and  in  1910  appointed  a  Commission,  which 
was  continued  in  1913,  for  the  promotion  of  Christian 
Unity. 

There  is  one  exception  to  this  march  of  progress  to  which 
I  must  refer.  The  prejudice  against  the  Jews,  certainly 
in  the  United  States,  is  far  greater  than  it  was  fifty  years 
ago.  At  that  time,  it  was  hardly  noticeable.  This  is 
partly  at  least,  due  to  the  enormous  increase  in  the  num 
ber  of  Jews  in  the  City  of  New  York.  This  again  has 
largely  been  caused  by  brutal  persecutions  in  Europe, 
which  have  driven  multitudes  to  this  land,  where,  if  there 
may  be  prejudice,  there  is  at  least  no  persecution.  The 
story  of  the  hopes  and  aspirations,  the  sufferings  and 
trials  which  have  led  to  this  migration  is  well  told  by 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  469 

Mary  Ant  in  in  her  wonderful  book — The  Promised 
Land. 

It  is  often  said  that  church  attendance  has  fallen  off 
and  that  the  influence  of  the  Christian  ministry  has 
diminished.  I  do  think  that  the  official  influence  and 
authority  of  Christian  ministers  has  diminished,  but  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  man  in  that  profession  who  has  a 
real  message  to  deliver  has  never  been  listened  to  with 
more  attention.  The  Christian  Church  has  never  been  so 
active  in  works  of  piety  and  charity  as  it  is  to-day. 
Beside  the  hospitals  and  dispensaries  which  are  in  the 
main  sustained  by  religious  people,  the  innumerable 
philanthropic  societies  which  have  been  formed,  and  in 
which  Christians  of  all  names  cordially  unite,  show  that 
Christian  Churches  are  alive  to  the  duty  not  only  of  love 
to  God,  but  of  love  to  man.  The  development  of  social 
settlements  is  one  of  the  most  marked  instances  of  this 
increase  in  sympathetic  interest.  In  1891  only  three 
settlements  existed  in  New  York  City.  There  are  now 
over  forty.  They  are  also  to  be  found  in  every  large 
city  throughout  the  United  States.  There  are  many  in 
Great  Britain  and  some  on  the  Continent  of  Europe. 
No  doubt  they  have  made  mistakes,  but  they^are  powerful 
factors  in  producing  a  more  friendly  relation  between 
the  wealthy  and  the  plain  people  and  bringing  about  that 
mutual  understanding  which  is  essential  to  any  friendly 
relations. 

When  the  Church  Club  of  New  York  was  formed  in 
1886,  I  was  one  of  its  organizers  and  its  first  President. 
Our  aim  was,  in  part,  at  least,  to  make  churchmen  of 


470       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

different  parishes  better  acquainted,  and  thus  do  away 
with  the  narrowness  of  parochialism.  We  had  social 
meetings  where  different  topics  of  interest  to  religious 
people  were  discussed,  and  we  organized  committees. 
One  of  these  undertook  to  conduct  religious  services  in  the 
old  church  of  St.  George  the  Martyr.  They  succeeded  in 
attracting  many  poor  men  and  women  from  a  wretched 
neighborhood.  After  a  while  the  old  rector  who  had  seen 
his  well-to-do  parishioners  move  up-town,  intervened — "I 
can't  have  so  many  dirty  people  in  my  church."  He 
belonged  to  a  school  that  has  mostly  passed  away.  The 
Church  understands  now,  much  better  than  it  did  fifty 
years  ago,  that  its  mission  is  to  dirty  people  as  well  as 
clean. 

I  became  Chairman  of  a  Committee  on  Social  and 
Economic  questions.  The  settlement  was  then  in  its 
infancy.  Arnold  Toynbee  had  gone  to  live  in  East  Lon 
don  and  gave  his  life  to  better  the  lives  of  the  wretched 
and  the  ignorant.  Toynbee  Hall  was  founded  by  those 
who  loved  him  and  were  not  willing  that  the  work  he  had 
begun  should  die.  In  that  wilderness  of  Whitechapel  and 
Bethnal  Green,  men  of  education  and  real  religious  spirit 
went  to  live,  and  as  Bishop  Potter  said,  gave  to  each 
poor  family  in  the  neighborhood  another  room.  But  it 
did  much  more.  It  gave  to  the  neighbors  a  higher  ideal. 

In  1889  I  visited  Toynbee  Hall  and  met  Canon  Barnett, 
the  Vicar  of  the  church  next  door.  I  said  to  myself,  why 
should  we  not  do  a  like  work  in  New  York?  I  related 
here  what  I  had  seen  in  London.  About  the  same  time  a 
similar  work  was  begun  by  graduates  of  colleges  for  women 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  471 

in  one  of  the  fine  old  houses  in  Rivington  Street  (No.  95) 
and  Stanton  Coit  and  Mr.  Stover  (Park  Commissioner 
under  Mayor  Gaynor)  undertook  the  Neighborhood 
Guild.  This  has  since  developed  into  the  University 
Settlement. 

Beside  the  influence  of  these  examples  I  profited  by 
the  experience  of  my  boyhood  in  a  Vermont  hamlet  where 
my  grandfather,  William  Jarvis,  and  his  family,  were  the 
inspiration  of  the  whole  town.  To  him  the  farmers,  to  his 
wife  the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters,  were  glad  to  go  for 
counsel  and  it  was  never  refused.  He  first  introduced  the 
cradle  for  cutting  grain,  which  supplanted  the  sickle  about 
1832.  Then  he  brought  in  the  horse  rake  for  hay,  then 
the  mowing  machine  took  the  place  of  the  scythe,  and  thus 
the  conditions  of  farm  labor  were  improved  and  the  peo 
ple  of  the  countryside  benefited.  Could  we  do  something 
equally  good  for  the  East  Side? 

The  Church  Club  Committee  were  convinced  that 
what  had  been  done  elsewhere  could  be  done  by  us,  and  we 
leased  and  afterwards  bought  one  of  those  old  houses  that 
stood  a  century  ago  on  the  bluff  along  the  East  River  from 
Fiftieth  to  Ninetieth  Streets.  There  was  a  garden  which 
extended  to  the  river.  There  we  set  up  swings.  In  the 
big  parlors  we  placed  a  piano  and  provided  games.  The 
old  greenhouse  was  converted  into  a  gymnasium.  We 
opened  our  doors  to  the  neighbors  in  June,  1891. 

As  I  had  been  foremost  in  advocating  the  settlement, 
I  felt  that  I  ought  to  go  in  residence,  and  there  I  was  Head- 
Worker  during  the  first  summer. 

A  successful  club  for  young  men  was  soon  established. 


472       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

The  neighbors  at  first  looked  at  us  with  suspicion  and 
wondered  why  we  were  there.  But  they  found  we  had 
come  for  good  and  the  mothers  were  glad  to  have  the 
children  come  down  to  the  East  Side  House  on  Sunday 
afternoons.  We  showed  the  children  Bible  pictures,  and 
told  them  Bible  stories.  After  a  while  Mrs.  Prescott  Hall 
Butler  and  some  friends  gave  a  service  of  song.  We  made 
friends  with  the  Bohemian  pastor,  the  Methodist  minister, 
and  finally  with  the  Roman  Catholic  priest  at  St.  Monica's. 
Clarence  Spofford  gave  us  four  thousand  books,  Charles 
B.  Webster  gave  us  money  for  a  library  building,  and  we 
opened  a  free  circulating  library.  The  Bohemian  section 
of  this  was  the  first  free  circulating  library  in  that  language 
in  New  York.  We  had  at  least  thirty  thousand^  Bohemian 
constituents. 

Walter  F.  Brush  advised  with  me  in  the  formation  of  the 
settlement  and  in  the  selection  of  our  site  on  the  river. 
He  succeeded  me  as  Head-Worker.  We  were  volunteers. 
Our  first  salaried  Head-Worker  was  Willis  B.  Holcombe. 
During  the  hard  winter  which  followed  the  panic  of  1893, 
he  administered  admirably  a  fund  of  $4000,  which  was 
given  by  R.  Fulton  Cutting,  Seth  Low  and  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt.  We  used  it  in  hiring  men  at  a  dollar  a 
day  to  terrace  our  water  front  and  construct  a  tidal 
basin  for  bathing.  He  frankly  explained  to  the  men 
out  of  work,  that  he  had  only  just  so  much  money  to 
spend,  that  he  wanted  to  help  as  many  as  possible, 
and  that  therefore  he  could  pay  no  more.  With  this 
explanation  the  men  took  the  wages  gladly.  It  carried 
a  hundred  families  through  that  hard  winter,  with 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  473 

self-respect.  I  doubt  if  that  amount  of  money  ever 
did  more  good. 

The  work  of  the  settlement  grew.  We  established  a 
kindergarten  and  afterwards  a  day  nursery.  We  had 
classes  in  cooking,  sewing,  vocal  and  instrumental  music. 
We  outgrew  our  old  building  and  in  1901-1902  pulled  it 
down  and  built  the  present  commodious  structure.  A 
large  assembly  room  proved  attractive  to  the  young 
people  for  dancing,  concerts  and  lectures.  We  had  Bible 
classes  and  Sunday  afternoon  services.  There  was  no 
attempt  to  make  proselytes.  But  we  did  try  earnestly  to 
impress  the  fundamental  truths  of  religion  which  are  held 
by  all  the  churches.  It  is  often  said  that  settlements  can 
not  do  religious  work.  But  our  experience  is  that  they  are 
' '  applied  Christianity. ' '  The  feeling  of  sympathy,  of  broth 
erly  kindness,  of  mutual  helpfulness  that  we  have  developed 
is  the  natural  result  of  our  endeavor  to  follow  the  example  of 
Christ.  "Though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  He  be 
came  poor  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  be  rich. " 

It  is  said  sometimes  that  the  work  of  the  settlements  is 
transitory  and  will  be  taken  up  by  the  municipal  govern 
ments.  Some  of  it  has  been.  Our  own  settlement 
induced  the  city  authorities  to  establish  a  playground 
(John  Jay  Park),  a  public  bath  and  a  public  library  in  our 
neighborhood.  These  took  the  place  of  those  we  had  first 
established.  They  were  much  better  than  any  we  could 
afford  or  ever  did  maintain.  Relieved  of  that  responsi 
bility  we  went  forward  to  other  work,  and  it  grew  on  our 
hands.  As  long  as  some  possess  more  than  others,  so  long 
will  it  be  good  for  those  who  have  more,  to  live  among  and 


474        SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

share  with  those  who  have  less.  It  may  be  more  spiritual 
insight,  better  intellectual  training,  more  knowledge  of  the 
world,  more  physical  dexterity,  or  more  money.  What 
ever  our  advantage,  let  us  share  it.  That  is  what  we  have 
tried  to  do  at  the  East  Side  House. 

About  the  time  that  the  settlement  was  established, 
Professor  Ely,  Dr.  Mackay-Smith  (afterwards  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania)  and  myself,  took  an  active  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  Christian  Social  Union.  The  object  of 
this  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  settlement,  that  is  to  say, 
to  bring  educated  men  who  were  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  organized  work  of  the  Christian  churches,  into 
closer  relations  with  the  plain  people.  We  found  the  same 
difficulty  in  making  our  objects  clear  that  the  settlement 
workers  had  found.  Phillips  Brooks  was  one  of  our  best 
friends,  and  in  April,  1892,  he  wrote  me  as  follows: 

Much  as  I  value  the  effort  which  the  Union  is  making  to 
arouse  in  our  Church  interest  in  subjects  which  the  Church  has 
no  business  to  neglect,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  largeness  of  its 
purposes  and  the  vagueness  of  its  methods,  should  hinder  its 
immediate  and  strong  appeal  to  the  sympathies  of  busy  people. 
But  I  believe  in  it  with  all  my  heart,  and  while  I  look  for  no 
immediate  or  startling  results,  I  am  sure  its  existence  cannot 
but  do  good. 

We  continued  our  propaganda  with  sermons,  addresses 
and  pamphlets.  Finally  the  work  was  taken  up  by  the 
General  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was 
turned  over  to  the  Social  Service  Commission  organized 
by  that  body.  Many  other  churches  have  done  the  like. 

The  two  great  Protestant  orders,  the  Salvation  Army 
and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  have  come 


CHANGES  IN  SIXTY  YEARS  475 

into  existence  in  my  time.  The  former  has  more  the 
characteristics  of  the  Roman  Catholic  orders  than  the 
latter,  but  they  are  alike  in  this,  that  their  work  is  extended 
to  every  land.  It  is  Christian,  self-sacrificing,  zealous  and 
loving.  They  are  to-day  two  of  the  most  powerful  agencies 
for  the  promotion  of  peace  upon  earth  and  goodwill  to  men. 

Pervading  all  the  improvement  that  I  have  described  is 
a  change  in  the  conception  of  God.  The  terrors  of  Dante's 
Inferno  and  of  Jonathan  Edwards'  sermon  on  Hell,  have 
ceased  to  be  a  part  of  religious  thought.  God  is  realized 
as  a  God  of  love ;  a  present  friend — not  a  distant  sovereign. 

This  change  in  the  conception  of  God  has  been  accom 
panied  by  a  change  in  the  conception  of  the  Bible.  Chris 
tians  generally  have  come  to  realize  that  the  Bible  is  not 
a  single  book,  but  a  collection  of  books  written  at  very 
different  times,  and  adapted  to  circumstances  widely 
different.  We  have  learned  to  study  them  with  reference 
to  these  varying  conditions,  to  compare  one  part  with 
another,  to  observe  the  evolution  of  revelation  as  God  has 
manifested  it  gradually  from  age  to  age.  "The  New 
Testament  is  latent  in  the  Old — the  Old  is  manifested  in 
the  New,"  is  a  maxim  impressed  deeply  on  religious 
thought.  We  have  learned  the  canon,  given  by  Christ 
Himself,  that  the  words  are  to  be  interpreted  spiritually, 
not  literally.  Thus  the  study  of  the  Bible  has  become 
more  intelligent  and  therefore  a  delight  and  an  inspiration. 
Many  who  never  read  Coleridge's  Lay  Sermon  have  learned 
its  lesson,  that  the  writings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  wrhen 
carefully  studied  and  rightly  understood,  are  "the  best 
guide  to  political  skill  and  foresight." 


476       SIXTY  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  LIFE 

I  heard  an  illustration  of  this  from  Dr.  Washburn,  our 
eloquent  rector  at  Calvary,  in  1871.  The  discoveries  of 
the  frauds  that  had  been  committed  by  Tweed  and  his 
associates  were  then  fresh  in  the  minds  of  our  people.  The 
question  was  whether  good  citizens  would  combine,  irre 
spective  of  party,  and  drive  from  office  and  power  the 
guilty.  The  preacher  took  for  his  text  the  Hebrew  story 
of  Gehazi,  the  servant  of  the  prophet,  who  ran  after 
Naaman  and  obtained  from  him  by  false  pretense  two 
talents  of  silver  and  costly  robes.  He  pointed  out  the 
greed  for  money  and  luxury  that  was  the  sin  of  the  day 
and  declared  in  tones  and  gestures  that  had  indeed  the 
spirit  and  power  of  Elijah — "If  you  do  not  purge  your 
selves  from  this  deadly  sin,  the  leprosy  of  Naaman  will 
cleave  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed  forever."  His  hearers 
never  forgot  those  words  throughout  all  the  desperate 
struggle  that  ended  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  Tweed  ring. 

They  are  as  much  needed  now  as  then.  The  growth 
of  wealth  and  luxury,  the  very  increase  in  physical  ease 
and  comfort,  which  I  have  noted,  are  real  dangers.  The 
Roman  satirist  wrote:  "Saevior  armis,  luxuria  incubuit. " 
Nevertheless,  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  the  American  people  will  be  loyal  to  the  principles 
of  freedom  and  justice  on  which  our  Government  is 
founded  and  to  the  divine  law  of  righteousness  which 
alone  can  exalt  a  nation  and  give  permanent  peace. 

THE   END 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Dr.  Lyman,  166 
Abolition  of  slavery,  D.  C.,  32 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  95 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  Jr.,   150, 

1 60 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  420 
Addams,  Jane,  420 
Aldermen,   Board   of,   power  over 

appointments,  362 
Aldis,  Judge,  85,  87 
Aldrich,  Senator,  201,  276 
Allen,  Judge  Wm.  F.,  318 
Allison,  Senator,  101,  227,  276 
Alvord,  Thomas  G.,  136 
American    College    for    Girls,    in 

Turkey,  444 
American    labor,    effectiveness    of, 

156,  159,  162 
American    manufactures,    sales    in 

foreign  countries,  219 
Anderson,  Captain,  19 
Anderson,  E.  Ellery,  173,  204,  210, 

230,  231,  251,  254 
Andrews,  Miss,  17,  50,  54,  65 
Antietam,  battle  of,  31 
Appomattox,  battle  of,  53;  surren 
der  of,  53 

Apportionment   representatives,  68 
Arbitration  in  Street  Department, 

351 ;  in  coal  strike,  442 
Armenia,  Turkish  cruelty  in,  426 
Armenian  massacres,  action  United 

States    Government    respecting, 

423 

Armstrong,  Gen.  Samuel  C.,  89 
Arthur,  Chester  A.,  101,  120,  122, 

123,  125,  263,  275,  430 
Asquith,  Premier,  411 
Assassination,  of  Garfield,  123,  277; 

of  Lincoln,  54;  of  McKinley,  436 
Audit,  Board  of,  New  York  City,  319 
Automobiles,  454 


Bacon,  Robert,  445 
Baldwin,  Henry  deForest,  251 


Baldwin,  Wm.  H.,  Jr.,  379 
Bangs,  Francis  N.,  325,  419 
Bank-note    circulation    in    United 

States,  224,  233 
Banks,  Gen.  N.  P.,  40 
Bar  Association,  American,  Comm. 

Reformed  Procedure,  404;   New 

York  City,  formation  of,  324 
Bar  Associations,  activity  of,  410 
Barlow,  Francis  C.,  108,  135 
Barnard,  Judge  George  G.,  120,  325 
Barnett,  Canon,  470 
Barton,  Rev.  James  L.,  424 
Bayard,   Senator  T.   F.,    150,  159, 

296,  297;  letter  of,  296 
Beaman,  Charles  C.,  357 
Beard,  Dan,  253 

Beauregard,  Gen.  P.  G.  T.,  19,  22 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  4,  150,  152, 

153,  1 66;  statue  in  Brooklyn,  166 
Bellows,  Dr.  Henry  W.,  264 
Belmont,   August,   239,   242,   244, 

245,  247,  248,  321,  330,  338 
Belmont,  Perry,  168 
Benedict,  Judge  Charles  L.,  268 
Betts,  Judge  S.  R.,  24 
Bible,  religious  conceptions  of,  475 
Bi-metallism,  discussion  of,  257 
Bi-partisan  Board  of  Supervisors, 

317,  344 

Bi-partisan  Police  Board,  344,  378 
Bismarck,  118 
Bissert,  George,  379,  380 
Black,  Gpv.  Frank  S.,  368 
Blackmail,  Police  Department,  New 

York  City,  342,  361,  373,  379 
Elaine,  James  G.,    104,    127,    128, 

157,  161,  173,  206,  298 
Blair,  Montgomery,  150 
Bland-Allison  Act,  227,  249 
Blatchford,  Judge  Samuel,  120 
Blockade,  Confederate  ports,  23,  47 
Board  of  Apportionment,  New  York 

City,  320 
Boies,  Horace,  144,  204 


477 


478 


INDEX 


Bombardments  during  Civil  War, 

effect  of,  60 

Bonaparte,  Charles  J.,  278 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  22,  59 
Booth,  Wilkes,  54 
Bosworth,  Joseph  S.,  324 
Bounties  to  volunteers  during  Civil 

War,  44 

Boutwell,  George  S.,  71,  76,  77 
Bowker  R.  R.,  127,  129,  165,  183, 

184,  191 

Bradley,  Mr.  Justice,  107,  109,  no 
Brawley,  Judge  William  H.,   232, 

233 

Breckenridge,  John  C.,  n,  168 
Breckinridge,  Clifton  R.,  195 
Brewster,  Attorney-General,  274 
Bribery  in  elections,  193,  194,  263 
Brooks,  Phillips  (letter  of),  474 
Brown,  James  M.,  321 
Brown,  John  Crosby,  359 
Brown,  Judge  Addison,  268 
Brown,  Mayor,  21 
Brush,  Walter  F.,  472 
Bryan,  William  Jennings,  218,  256- 

260 

Buchanan,  James,  8,  9,  13,  17,  21 
Buckner,  Simon  B.,  218,  257,  259 
Bull  Run,  First  Battle  of,  22;  Second 

Battle  of,  30 
Burchard,  Dr.,  128 
Burke,  Edmund,  188,  189 
Burnside,  Ambrose  E.,  33-35,  37 
Burt,  Silas  W.,  136,  277,  283 
Butler,  Gen.  Benjamin  F.,  21,  37, 

71,  82,  116,  117 
Butler,  Nicholas  Murray,  359 
Butler,  Mrs.  Prescott  Hall,  472 
Butler,  William  Allen,  324 
Butterworth,  Benjamin  F.,  184,  188 
Bynum,  William  D.,  252 
Byrnes,  Police  Inspector,  286 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  15 

California,  admission  of,  2 

Cameron,  Simon,  27 

Campaign  of  education,  146,  148 

Campbell,  Mr.  Justice,  51 

Campbell,  Timothy,  168 

Capital  and  labor,  relations  be 
tween,  172 

Carlisle,  John  G.,  144,  157,  167, 
195,  216,  218,  239,  242,  244,  245, 

253 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  78 
Carter,  James  C.,  323,  338,  359,  379 


Cary,  Edward,  274,  276 

Chance,  Mahlon  D.,  199,  200 

Chancellorsville,  battle  of,  35 

Chapman,  John  J.,  372 

Charities  and  correction,  356 

Charter  Commission,  New  York 
City,  306 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  42,  71,  72,  246 

Chattanooga,  battle  of,  42 

Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
appointment  of,  72 

Chinese  experience,  civil  service 
administration,  303 

Choate,  Joseph  H.,  36,  325,  370, 
397,  430 

Choate,  Rufus,  4,  8 

Choate,  William  G.,  325 

Christian  churches,  extension  of 
their  work,  469 

Christian  Commission,  58 

Christian  Social  Union,  474 

Christian  unity,  468 

Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  138,  140 

Cities,  limitation  of  indebtedness, 
363 ;  amendments  of  charters,  363 

Citizens'  Union,  appeal  in  1900,  385; 
candidates  considered,  389;  con 
ferences  called  by,  in  1901,  388; 
formation  of,  358;  nominations 
by,  388;  organization  of  1901, 
386;  permanent  organization,  372; 
policy  of,  in  selecting  candidates, 

390 

City  Club  of  New  York,  338,  372 

City  College  of  New  York,  356 

City  Reform  Club,  338 

City  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
New  York  City,  345 

Civil  Rights  bill,  70  ^ 

Civil  Service,  appointments  from 
list,  307;  commission,  New  York 
City,  1889,  300;  1894,  301;  1895, 
301;  1902,  307;  constitutional 
amendment,  New  York  State, 
307;  other  States,  308;  examina 
tions,  conduct  of,  285,  293;  ex 
emptions  from  examinations,  312; 
reform,  action  of  Hill,  136;  be 
ginning  of  movement  for,  123, 
265;  Reform  Association,  forma 
tion  of,  264;  reform  bill,  amend 
ments  to,  279;  introduced  by 
Pendleton,  276;  general  features 
of,  280;  passage  of,  280;  in  New 
York  State,  application  to  mu 
nicipalities,  438;  proceedings  in 


INDEX 


479 


Civil  Service — Continued 

Legislature,  438;  effect  of ,  on  per 
sons  holding  office  for  terms,  130, 
137;  in  municipalities,  308;  labor 
ers  in  classified  list,  308;  rules, 
exceptions  to,  448 ;  statutes,  con 
stitutionality  of,  268-271 

Civil  War,  effect  of,  i;  expenditure 
in,  and  consequent  corruption, 
262;  prediction  of,  6,  10,  12,  16; 
sentiment  at  its  close,  61 

Class  discrimination,  153 

Clay,  Henry,  15,  197 

Clayton,  Henry  D.,  406 

Clearing  House  certificates,  235 

Cleveland,  Grover,    125-128,    130- 

132,  134-137,  143,  144,  H6,  147, 
149,  162,  164,  178,  181,  182,  191, 
193,  203-209,  211,  212,  214,  216, 
218,  230-233,  236,  239,  240,  243, 
244,  248-251,  254,  256,  259,  283, 

296,  308,  332,  349,  413,  4157418, 
420,  422,  427,  429,  438;  dinner 
to,  Madison  Square  Garden,  203; 
nomination  of,  in  1892,  209; 
second  Administration  attacked 
by  partisans  and  reformers,  248; 
attacks  of  free-silver  men,  249; 
Democratic,  opposition,  250;  let 
ters  from,  231,"  256,  429;  Mrs., 

145 

Closure  in  Senate,  237 

Coal  strike  of  1902,  441 

Cobden,  Richard,  59 

Cockran,  William  Bourke,  208,  259 

Codman,  Charles  R.,  151,  160,  172, 

278 

Coin's  Financial  School,  255 
Cold  Harbor,  battle  of,  43 
Collins,  Patrick  A.,  160 
Collis,    Gen.    Charles   H.  T.,   302, 

355 

Colonization  in  Africa,  3 

Commerce,  freedom  and  develop 
ment  of,  196;  of  the  country,  con 
dition  of,  132 

Commissariat  during  the  war,  57 

Commission  government,  New 
York  City,  364 

Committee  of  Fifteen,  New  York 
City,  379 

Compensation  to  Southern  slave 
holders,  32 

Competitive  examinations  under 
civil  service  system,  288 

Compromise,  1850,  2 


Conciliation  Board,  in  coal  regions, 
443;  in  Street  Department,  351 

Confederacy,  formation  of,  13 

Confederate,  States,  sufferings  from 
blockade,  47,  48;  School  History 
of,  49;  soldiers,  after  the  war,  62, 
65;  inscription  at  Columbia,  63 

Congressional  campaign  of  1880, 
151;  of  1890,  144,  198,  202;  of 
1894,  252;  elections,  duty  of  tariff 
reformers,  169,  170,  174;  trim 
ming  in,  175 

Conkling,  Senator  Roscoe,  106, 
120-124,  299 

Connolly,  Richard  B.f  318-320,  330 

Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
261 

Constitutional  amendment  as  to 
civil  service,  New  York  State,  307 

Constitutional  amendments,  Thir 
teenth,  28;  Fourteenth,  68;  Fif 
teenth,  8 1 

Consular  service,  reform  in,  308 

Cooke,  Jay,  91 

Coombs,  William  J.,  251 

Cooper  Institute  tariff  meeting,  1 78 

Corporation  elections,  controver 
sies  respecting,  119 

Corruption,  national  politics,  97 

Cost  of  production,  difference  in, 
between  United  States  and  for 
eign  countries,  162,  164,  188,  220 

Coudert,  Frederic  R.,  204,  254,  325, 

341 

County  Court  House   frauds,  New 

York  County,  319,  326  . 
County  Democracy,  New  York,  331 
Cox,  Samuel  S.,  155,  179 
Croker,     Richard,     380-384,     394; 

estimate  of,  by  E.  M.  Shepard,  8 1 
Croton   Aqueduct,    legislation    for 

addition  to,  413,  415 
Cuba,   cruelty   to  people  of,   432; 

Spanish  administration,   corrup 
tion  of,  433 
Cunard    Line,    improvements    in, 

457,  46o 
Currency,  expansion  of,  90,  93,  102; 

famine  of  1893,  233 
Curtis,  Benjamin  R.,  71,  72 
Curtis,    George   William,    4,     127, 

206,  263,  267,  268,  271,  273,  277- 

279,  286,  300,  313,  439;  letter  of, 

300 
Curtis,  Gen.  Newton  Martin,  267- 

269,  272 


480 


INDEX 


Curtis,  William  E.,  239-242,  244- 

256 
Customs  duties,  payable  in  gold,  42, 

229 

Cutting,  Francis  B.,  24,  317 
Cutting,  R.  Fulton,  338,  359,  388, 

472 
Cutting,  W.  Bayard,  302,  338 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  Jr.,  101,  278 

Davies,  Julien  T.,  325 

Davis,  David,  107 

Davis,  Jefferson,  13,  51,  52 

Dawson,  Captain,  Francis  W.,  83, 

J5°»  179 
Debate      between      Lincoln     and 

Douglas,  10 

Debs,  Eugene  V.,  421,  422 
Democratic,  Convention,  1860,  n; 

1864,  46;  1868,  68;  1887,  181; 

1892,  204,  207,  233;  party,  posi 
tion  in  reference  to  new  territory, 

387;  platform,  1876,  100 
Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  95 
Desertions  during  war,  45 
Devery,  373,  374,  379,  380 
Diamond,  Police  Captain,  380 
Dingley,    Nelson,    195,    218,    219; 

Tariff  bill,  218,  432 
Disfranchisement  of  Confederates, 

69 

Disorderly  houses,  raid  on,  380 
Doremus,  R.  Ogden,  452 
Dorsheimer,  William,  173,  175,  299 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  7,  10-12 
Draft  riots,  36,  322 
Drawbacks,  163 
Dudley,  Election  circular,  194 
i  •< 

East  Side  House  Settlement,  471 
Eastman,  Samuel  C.,  408 
Eaton,  Dorman  B.,  264,  277,  278, 

281,    292,    299,    325;    letter   of, 

292 

Edmunds,  Senator,  George  F.,  106 
Edson,    Mayor   Franklin    B.,   283, 

284,  289 

Education,  extension  of,  463 
Election,  President  and  Vice-Presi- 

dent,  effect  of  failure  of  Electoral 

College,  112 
Elector  of  President,  duty  of,  under 

the  Constitution,  112 
Electoral  Commission,  107-111 
Electricity,  lighting  by,  452 
Eligible  list,  289 


Eliot,  President  Charles  W.,  163, 
173,  262 

Emancipation,  31;  proclamation, 
32,  33 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  4,  274 

Emigration  from  Europe  as  affected 
by  tariff,  200 

Enlistments  in  the  North,  23,  36 

Episcopal  Convention,  remon 
strance  by,  376,  378 

Equality,  American,  nature  of, 
189 

Erhardt,  Colonel  Joel  B.,  378 

Ericsson,  Captain  John,  25,  26 

Evarts,  William  M.,  24,  71-73,  76, 
103,  108,  116,  138,  139,  153,  154, 
156,  264,  317,  324 

Everett,  Edward,  4,  II 

Everett,  William,  161 

Excise  taxes,  101 

Exemptions  from  civil  service  ex 
aminations,  312 

Fairchild,  Charles  S.,  177,  204,  233, 

251,  254,  257,  359,  372 
Farm  products,   changes  in  value 

of,  after  the  war,  92 
Farnam,  Prof.  Henry  W.,  150,  165 
Federal    courts,    organization    01, 

138;  Reserve  Act,  260 
Fessenden,  William  Pitt,  74,  246 
Field,  Cyrus  W.,  298 
Fillmore,  Millard,  8 
Fire  Department,  examinations  for 

and  appointments  in,  290-292 
Fish,  Hamilton,  321,  437 
Fitch,  Ashbel  P.,  175,  176 
Florida,    investigation    of    election 

by  Barlow,  108;  canvassing  vote 

of,  109 

Flower,  Roswell  P.,  339,  360 
Flying  machines,  454 
Folger,  Charles  J.,   101,   125,  274, 

275,  430 

Foote,  Commodore,  26^28 
Foreign  competition  with  America, 

178,  187 

Forest  reserves,  American,  428 
Fornes,  Charles  V.,  391 
Fort  Sumter,  surrender  of,  19 
Fox,  Captain,  25 
Fractional  currency,  225 
Franchises     in    New    York    City, 

364 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  370,  371 
Fredericksburg,  battle  of,  33 


INDEX 


Free  silver  agitation  in  the  South, 
257;  silver  coinage,  217,  227 

Free  Trade  Club,  formation  of,  150; 
dinner,  1884,  157;  trade  between 
States,  157,  172;  consequence  of 
free  speech  and  free  soil,  167,  179 

Freedom  the  basis  of  prosperity, 
189 

Freeman,  A.  A.,  271,  273 

Fre'mont,  John  C.,  8,  9,  45 

Frissell,  H.  B.,  62 

Fugitive  Slave  law,  2 

Fuller,  Margaret,  274 

Fuller,  W.  J.  A.,  45,  46 

Funeral,  of  Daniel  Webster,  7;  of 
Lincoln,  54 

Gage,  Lyman,  240,  241,  255 
Garfield,  James  A.,  101,  120,  122, 
123,  263,  265,  266,  273,  277,  279 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  3,  202 
Gates,  President,  427 
Gaynor,    Mayor   William   J.,    307, 

347,391,398,471 

George,  Henry,  180,  333,  334,  369, 
370 

German  element  in  New  York 
politics,  390 

Gettysburg,  battle  of,  37 

Gibbons,  Cardinal  196 

Gibbs,  Wolcott,  150 

Gilman,  President  Daniel  C.,  151, 
345,  346 

Gilroy,  Thomas  F.,  301,  337,  394 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  28 

Glass  bottles,  duty  on,  133 

God,  religious  conceptions  of,  475 

Godkin,  Edwin  L.,  79,  127, 174,  184, 
196,  222,  265,  284,  290,  298,  300, 
301,  305,  339,  401;  constructive 
work  of,  305 

Goff,  John  W.,  340-342 

Gold,  and  silver,  ratio  between,  223 ; 
hoarding  of,  234;  reserve,  deple 
tion  of,  239;  bond  issues  to  pre 
vent  depletion,  240;  consultations 
respecting,  241 ;  finally  maintained 
by  agreement  of  1895,  243;  pur 
chase  of,  agreement  for,  244-248 ; 
standard,  defense  of,  431 

Good  government  clubs,  337 

Gorman,  Senator,  from  Maryland, 
213-215 

Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
election  of,  in  1822,  124;  in  1874, 
330 


Grace,  Mayor  William  R.,  284,  285, 

293,  332,  333,  36i,  364 
Grant,  Mayor  Hugh  J.,  284,  300, 

337,  394 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  28,  39,  40,  42-45, 

47,  51,  52,  55,  56,  71,  72,  79,  81, 

95,  97,  103,  106,  265 
Gray,  George,  142,  443 
Greater  New  York,  incorporation 

°f»  358;  first  mayoralty  election, 

360 

Greeley,  Horace,  96,  97,  159 
Greely,  Arctic  expedition,  426 
Greenbacks,    redemption    of,    229; 

endless  chain  of,  230 
Greene,  George  S.,  Jr.,  355 
Grimes,  Senator,  75 
Grover,  Martin,  in,  117 
Guiteau,  123,  277 

Hall,  A.  Oakey,  319,  330 
Hamburg- American  Line,  458,  461 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  160,  197 
Hamlin,  Charles  S.,  310 
Hampton  Roads  conference,  51 
Hancock,  Winfield  Scott,  121,  122, 

202,  247,  265 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  136-138,  140- 

143,  193,  211,  228,  229,  431 
Harrison,  Mayor,  420 
Harrison,  Mrs.  Burton,  22,  23,  52 
Harter,  Michael  D.,  198,  215,  232, 

233 
Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,    100,    108- 

iii,  113,  114,  116,  117,  120,  121, 

227,  263,  265,  266, 
Henderson,  Senator,  75 
Henderson,  D.  H.,  271,  275 
Hendricks,  Thomas  A.,  111-113 
Herbert,  Hilary  A.,  131 
Hewitt,  Abram   S.,  27,   113,    150, 

154,  155,  168,  178,  233,  284,  302, 

330,  332-334,  336,  337,  359,  36i, 

364,  377,  378,  381,  382,  398 
Hill,  David  B.,  136,  137,  147,  203- 

208,  214,  215,  230,  237,  247,  249- 

251,  254,  255,  415 
Historical  Society  address,  4 
History,    dignity    and    importance 

of,  5 

Hitchcock,  Henry,  278 
Hitchcock,  Roswell  D.,  61 
Hoar,  Senator,  163 
Holt,  Byron  W.,  210 
Hooker,  General  Joseph,  35,  37 
Hooker,  Justice  W.  B.,  380 


482 


INDEX 


Hosmer,  40,  58,  60 
Hospital,    and   dispensary   service, 
466;  service  during  Civil  War,  57 
Houses,    lighting     and      drainage, 

45° 

Howe,  Archibald  M.,  161 
Howe,  Walter,  437 
Hubbell,  J.  A.,   271-276 

Impeachment,  of  Andrew  Johnson, 
71;  trial,  arguments  in,  Curtis, 
72;  Evarts,  72,  73;  vote,  conclu 
sion  of  trial,  74;  Evarts'  answer 
to  Boutwell,  76;  of  New  York 
judges,  325 

Importers,  character  of,  202 

Imports,  payable  in  gold,  225 

Inauguration,  of  Cleveland,  1885, 
164;  of  Hayes,  113;  of  Lincoln,  17 

Independents,  position  in  politics, 
127,  128,  173,  188,  206 

Injunctions  in  reference  to  strikes, 
422 

Inoculation  for  diseases,  466 

Internal  revenue  duties,  170 

International  arbitration,  141,  411; 
recommended  by  New  York  Bar 
Association,  412 

Iron,  duties  on,  155 

Ironclads,  introduction  of,  25 

Irvine,  Prof.  Frank,  410 

Ives,  Brayton,  243 

Ivins,  William  M.,  332 


Jackson,  Andrew,  15,  36,  261,  262, 

'28 1 

Jarvis,  William,  165,  471 

I 


fay,  John,  283 
leffe 


'erson,   Thomas,    15,    149;   cup, 
presentation  of,  149 
Jerome,  William  Travers,  340,  392, 

396 

Jews,  prejudice  against,  468 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  346 
Johnson,  Andrew,  22,  54,  65,  68, 

70-73,  75-78 
ohnson,  Herschel  V.,  12 
ohnson,  J.  Augustus,  344 
ohnson,  Tom,  145 
ohnston,  Joseph  E.,  39,  55,  67 
oint  debate  on  tariff  in  Boston, 

184 

Joint  debates  in  the  State  of  N.  Y., 
198;  in  Sandy  Hill,  199;  in  1892, 

210 

Jones  (N.  Y.  Times},  326,  327 


Judges,  New  York  City,  corruption 

of,  323 

Judges,  election  of,  325 
Judicial  appointments,  443 

Kansas,  admission  of,  9 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  7 
Kelly,  John,  330,  331 
Kennedy,  John  S.,  379 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  254 
Know  Nothing  party,  8,  9 
Ku  Klux  Klan,  82 

Labor  Commissioner's  report,  211 

Labor,  position  of,  180 

Lacombe,  Judge  E.  H.,  398,  409  . 

Lamont,  Colonel  Daniel  S.,  131,  203 

Larocque,  Joseph,  342 

Lavatories,  New  York  City,  348 

Law,  George,  293 

Lee,  General  Robert  E.,  21,  30,  31, 
33-38,  43,  50,  52-55,  67 

Legal-tender,  decisions,  90;  notes, 
225 

Lehman,  F.  W.,  404 

Leishman,  Minister  to  Turkey,  445, 
446 

Lexow,  Clarence,  339,  361;  investi 
gation,  339 

Li  Hung  Chang,  303 

Liberal  Republicans,  organization 
and  convention  of,  95 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  10,   12,  14,  16, 

19,  27,  30-33,  45-47,  51,  54,59, 

65,  66,  74,  87 

Liquor  selling  in  New  York,  333 
Local  legislation  in  New  York,  383 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  197,  309 
Louisiana,  canvassing  vote  of,  no; 

legislature    of,    organized    under 

direction   of   federal   troops,   97; 

offer  by  elector  to  sell  vote,  114; 

recognition  of  Democratic  Gov 
ernor,  115 
Low,  Seth,  191,  283,  284,  307,  345, 

347,  366,  367,  368,  370,  372,  384, 

390,  393,  396,  397,  472 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  3,  112,  113, 

188 

Luxury,  danger  of,  476 
Lyman,  Charles,  311 

McAdam,  Graham,  151 
McAneny,  George,  400 
McClellan,  George  B.,   23,  28-30, 
33,  43,  46»  47,  347,  39$ 


INDEX 


483 


McCuUagh,  John,  373,  395 
McCunn,  John  H.,  325 
McDowell,  General,  22,  23 
Mackay-Smith,  Bishop  Alexander, 

374 

Mcllhenny,  John  A.,  447 
McKinley,    William   B.,    122,    134, 

142,  143,  168,  176,  195,  197,  199, 

211,  212,  214,  215,  218,  222,  228, 
233,  258,  259,  260,  287,  368,  389, 

413,  430,  431,  433 
McKinley  tariff  bill,  142,  195,  197, 

431,  437 

MacVeagh,  Wayne,  277 
Machinery,    improvements    in,    as 

affecting  cost  of  production,  185, 

200 

Madison,  James,  15;  Congressman 
of  Kansas,  406;  Mrs.  Dolly,  22 

Maine,  election  of,  1880,  120;  1888, 
140 

Manning,  Daniel,  125,  164,  177 

Manufactures  of  America,  inde 
pendence  of,  191 ;  value  of  product 
and  cost  of  production,  1905,  220 

Map  of  New  York  City,  changes 
in,  320 

Marble,  duty  on,  213 

Marble,  Manton,  100,  101 

Marquand,  Henry,  208,  300 

Marshall,  Charles  H.,  150,  173 

Maryland,  invasion  of,  31 

Massachusetts  Sixth,  reception  in 
Baltimore,  20 

Massachusetts  tariff  campaigns,  172, 
176 

Massachusetts  Tariff  Reform 
League,  organization  of,  160 

Massachusetts,  vote  of,  in  1876,  113 

Maxwell,  William  H.,  347 

Mayoralty  election,  New  York 
City,  1883,  332;  1886,  333;  1888, 
337;  1894,  342,  360;  1897,  366, 
370;  1901,  386,  396;  policy  of 
Shepard,  392 

Meade,  General  George  G.f  36,  37, 
38,  247 

Medical  treatment  of  wounded,  60 

Medicine  and  surgery,  improve 
ments  in,  465 

Member  of  Congress,  residence  of, 

155 

Merit  system,  extension  of,  311 
Metropolitan  Police  District,  316 
Military  funerals,  42 
Mills,  Roger  Q.,  184,  195,  197,  237 


Mills  tariff  bill,  184 

Milton,  John,  59,  61 

Ministers,  part  in  politics,  377 

Missionary  work,  467 

Mississippi  delegation,  hearing  be 
fore,  204 

Mississippi,  military  movements 
in,  during  march  to  the  sea,  85 

Missouri  Compromise,  repeal  of,  7 

Mitchel,  John  Purroy,  347,  399 

Mitchell,  John,  442 

Moldenke,  Dr.,  391 

Monroe,  Robert  Grier,  379 

Moon,  Reuben  O.,  406 

Moore,  J.  S.,  171,  173,  192 

Moot,  Adelbert,  412 

Morgan,  Senator,    from    Alabama, 

309 
Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  239,  242,  244, 

245,  442 

Morris,  Lieutenant,  25 
Morrison,    William    R.,    157,    159, 

162,  167,  168 
Morrison  tariff  bill,  defeat  of,  160, 

167,  168 

Morrissey,  John,  331 
Mortar  beds  for  western  gunboats, 

27 

Moss,  Frank,  340 
Mott,  Major  M.  P.,  257 
Municipal    civil    service    commis 
sions  in  New  York  State,  283-285 
Murphy,  Edward,  255 
Murphy,  Michael  G.,  379,  380 
Murray,  Chief  of  Police,  334,  335 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  22,  59 

Nast,  Thomas,  97 

National  banks,  226,  261;  circula 
tion  of,  226;  deposits  in,  235 

National  Civil  Service  Reform 
League,  formation  of,  278 

Naval  battles,  Civil  War,  Hampton 
Roads,  25;  success  of  Monitor, 
26;  on  western  rivers,  26 

Negro,  education,  88;  suffrage,  81; 
vote  in  the  South,  alleged  sup 
pression  of,  104 

Negroes,  condition  after  the  war,  80 

Nelson,  Knute,  197,  405 

Nelson,  Mr.  Justice,  24 

Nelson,  Thomas  A.  R.,  71,  72 

New  trials,  abuse  of,  403 

New  York  Appellate  Courts,  power 
of,  on  questions  of  fact  as  com 
pared  with  Supreme  Court,  408 


484 


INDEX 


New  York  City,  administration, 
improvements  in,  399;  condition 
in,  1855,  3*6;  new  methods  of 
fraud,  339;  reforms  under  Mayor 
Grace,  332 

New  York  City  Bar  Association, 
cooperation  in  election  of  judges, 

New  York  City,  election  in,  1875, 
331;  1883,  332;  politics  in  1854, 
315;  unification  of  government, 
290 

New  York,  Port  of,  channel  to, 
460;  position  of,  as  pivotal  State, 
126 

New  York  State,  Civil  Service  Act, 
281-283;  Civil  Service  Commis 
sion,  283 

New  York  State,  reform  of  State 
government,  100;  Revenue  Re 
form  League,  160 

Newcastle,  Duke  of,  382,  383 

Nichols, 'Francis  Tillou,   104,   no, 

I15 

Non-partisan      associations,      effi 
ciency  of,  313 
North  German  Lloyd,  459 
Northern  feeling  after  the  war,  87 
Northern  States  tender  aid  to  the 

President,  15 
Norway    and    Sweden,    separation 

of,  16 
Nursery,  372 

O'Brien,  James,  326 

O'Brien,  Morgan  J.f  382 

O'Conor,    Charles,    24,    108,    317, 

321,324,328,330 
Office  buildings,  elevators  in,  and 

construction  of,  450;  heating  of, 

Official  ballot,  171 
O'Gorman,  Senator  James  A.,  382 
Oil  as  fuel  on  steamers,  461 
Olcott,  J.  Van  Vechten,  301 
Olmsted,  Frederick  Law,  452 
Olney,  Richard,  244,  245,  420,  424, 

428 

Oorfa,  defense  of,  426 
Oregon,   canvassing  vote    of,   in, 

117 

Packard,  S.  B.,  104,  114 

Paddock,  Rev.  Walter  L.,  374,  375, 

378,  379 
Page,  Edward  D.,  359 


Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  82 

Page,  Walter  H.,  201 

Palmer,  John  M.,  218,  257,  259 

Panic,  of  1873,   91;  of  1893,  216, 

249 
Pardon,  application  for,  to  President 

Cleveland,  416 
Parker,  Alton  B.,  137 
Parker,  George  F.,  203 
Parker,  R.  Wayne,  405 
Parker,  Theodore,  4 
Parker,  Willard,  321 
Parkhurst,  Dr.  Charles  H.,  339 
Parks,  development  of,    347,    452, 

473 

Parsee  letters,  171 
Partisan  disputes  over  McClellan, 

29 

Partisanship   in    city   government, 

361,368 
Party  managers,  position  of,   122, 

124 

Pasteur,  antiseptic  treatment,  465 
Pavement  in  cities,  452 
Payne,  Sereno  E.,  195,  295,  296 
Payne- Aldrich  bill,  220,  221 
Peabody,  George  Foster,  377,  379, 

389,  394 

Peace  Congress,  13 

Pearson,  nomination  of,  205,  206, 
294 

Peck,  Charles  F.,  211 

Peckham,  Rufus  W.,  254 

Peckham,  Wheeler  H.,  328 

Peet,  William  W.,  446 

Pendleton,  Senator  George  H.,  124, 
276-280,  295-300;  failure  of  re 
election,  295;  dinner  to,  296 

Pension  legislation,  108;  135 

People's  Municipal  League,  337 

Pepperell,  William,  202 

Perry,  Professor  A.  L.,  151 

Personal  considerations  as  influ 
encing  Presidents,  417 

Phillips,  Wendell,  4 

Philpott,  H.  J.,  170 

Pickett's  charge,  38 

Pierce,  Franklin,  2 

Pierce,  Henry  L.,  160 

Piers  and  waterfronts,  New  York 
City,  355 

Pillage  during  Civil  War,  50,  51 

Pipe  galleries,  New  York  City,  355 

Pitt.  William,  382 

Platt,  Senator  Thomas  C.,  123, 
124,  127,  344,  368,  436 


INDEX 


485 


Police,  Chief  of,  New  York  City, 

373 

Police  Commission,  New  York 
City,  439 

Police  Courts,  New  York  City,  357 

Police  Department,  New  York 
City,  corruption  in,  334;  examina 
tions  for,  and  appointments  in, 
290;  interference  with  elections, 
340 

Political,  assessments,  134,  263, 
266, 271-275 ;  parties,  progress  of, 
118 

Polk  and  Dallas,  122 

Poll  canvass  of  New  York,  196 

Popularists  in  the  South,  259 

Port  Hudson,  siege  and  surrender 
of,  40 

Porter,  General  Fitz-John,  30 

Porter,  John  K.,  324 

Post,  George  B.,  356 

Post,  Dr.  George  E.,  34 

Post,  Louis  P.,  198 

Post  Office,  New  York  City,  294 

Potter,  Clarkson  N.,  118-120 

Potter,  Bishop  Henry  C.,  138,  297, 

338,  374-378 

Potter,  Orlando  B.,  173,  277-279 

Potts,  William,  271 

Pound,  Prof.  Roscoe,  404,  409 

Prentiss,  Rev.  George  L.,  264 

President  of  the  United  States, 
duty  of,  182;  power  of,  127;  prac 
tice  in  signing  bills,  419 

Presidential  campaign  of,  1852,  2, 
3;  1856,  8,  9;  1860,  n;  messages, 
Buchanan,  1860,  13;  1864,  47; 
soldiers  vote  in,  49;  1868,  79; 
1872,  95;  1876,  100,  103;  investi 
gation  of  telegrams,  116;  1880, 
120;  1884,  126,  161;  1888,  191, 
193;  1892,  203,  212;  1896,  218, 
25.6,  259;  1900,  260;  1912,  221 

Presidential  election,  how  to  be 
decided,  105;  joint  rule  respect 
ing,  1 06 

Press,  circulation  in  currency  cam 
paign,  253;  work  of  Reform  Club 
with,  210 

Press  Committee,  Reform  Club, 
work  of,  20 1 

Prices  in  America,  effect  of  tariff 
on,  200 

Privateer  Savannah,  trial  of,  24 

Privateering  by  Confederates,  23 

Probation,  289 


Procedure,  reform  in,  403 

Proctor,  John  R.,  311 

Proctor,  Redfield,  212,  213,  434 

Promotion,  examinations  for,  302 

Protective  system,  effects  of,  151, 
161;  evil  results  of,  on  character, 
189 

Protective  tariff  laws,  complexi 
ties  and  absurdities  of,  190 

Public  schools,  New  York  City, 
improvements  in,  344 

Pullman,  town  of,  421 

Purity  in  politics,  377 

Putnam,  George  Haven,   128,  150 

Putnam,  William  L.,  140,  141 

Railroad  strike  of  1904,  420 
Railroads  to  the  West,  construction 

of,  91 

Railway  through  routes,  453 
Randolph,  Edmund,  Attorney-Gen 
eral,  305,  331 
Randall,  of  Pennsylvania,  119,  121, 

122,  160,  168 
Rapid  transit,  New  York  City,  353, 

399 

Raw  materials,  duties  on,  153,  163, 
167,  170,  172,  175,  187;  on  free 

list,  222 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,  96 

Real  estate,  speculation,  92;  change 
in  value  of,  92 

Reciprocity,  policy  of,  435 

Reconstruction,  era  of,  6i;  finan 
cial  progress  of,  102;  legislatures, 
corruption  of,  79 

Reed,  Thomas  B.,  195,  228 

Reform  Club,  campaign  in  New 
York,  1 88;  dinner  of  1890,  144; 
formation  of,  183;  growth  of,  195; 
officers  of,  184;  Red  Book,  203; 
Sound  Currency  Committee,  250; 
Sound  Currency  periodical,  252; 
tariff  bill  of  1893,  212;  tariff  cam 
paign,  145;  Tariff  Reform  Com 
mittee,  210 

Reform  organizations,  importance 
of  permanence  of  ,401 

Reformed  Procedure,  legislation  in 
New  York,  403;  legislation  in 
Congress,  405 

Registration  law,  New  York  com 
pared  with  English  system,  395 

Religious  progress,  467 

Removals  from  office,  262,  343; 
under  Civil  Service  Act,  286,  287 


486 


INDEX 


Republican   Convention,   1860,  n; 

1888,  190 
Republican  party,  defeat  in  1874, 

98;  formation  of,  8;  in  1858,  10 
Returning     Boards     in     Southern 

States,  104 

Revenue  tariff,  152,  160,  162 
Review  of  Sherman's  army,  55 
Reynolds,  James  B.,  359 
Richmond,  evacuation  of,  52;  first 

campaign    against,    28;    retreat 

from,  29 

Richmond,  Henry  A.,  283 
Ridder,  Herman,  390 
Rives,  Francis  R.,  103 
Rives,  George  L.,  259,  389,  398,  417 
Robertson,  William  H.,  122 
Robinson,  E.  Randolph,  284,  290, 

300,    30*,  305,    306,    313,    324; 

work  on  Civil  Service  Commis 
sion,  305 

Rogers,  Sherman  S.,  125 
Roosevelt,  Robert  B.,  321 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  127,  218,  221, 

259,  287,  302,  309,  311,  312,  314, 

379,  4J3,  436-440,  445,  447 
Roosevelt,  letters  from,  440,  445, 

447 
Root,  Elihu,  309,  359,  370,  406,  429, 

Ropes,  John  C.,  30 

Rosengarten,  J.  G.,  200,  278 

Ross,  Edmund  G.,  75,  76 

Rough  Rider  cavalry,  Spanish  War, 
441 

Rules  of  court  as  regulating  pro 
cedure,  409 

"Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion," 
128 

Russ  &  Reid,  452 

Russell,  Charles  Theodore,  278 

Russell,  James  S.,  62,  89 

Russell,  John  E.,  172,  198 

Russell,  William  E.,  144,  176 

Ryder,  Jesse,  193 

St.  Anthony  and  the  fishes,  188 

St.  Gaudens,  Augustus,  55,  166 

Salvation  Army,  474 

Sanderson,  210 

Sandford,  Edward,  380 

Sanitary  Commission,  58 

Sanitary  condition,  New  York  City, 

beginning  of  reforms,  321 
Sargent,  J.  B.,  of  New  Haven,  165, 

173,  187 


Schaff,  General  Morris,  52,  53 
Schieffelin,  William  J.,  302,  338 
Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  379 
Schoenhof,  Jacob,  156,  177 
Schoonmaker,  Augustus,  283 
Schultz,  Jackson  S.,  178 
Schurz,  Carl,  35,  38,  95,  98,   116, 

127,  128,  145,  193,  206,  263,  264, 

277,  278,  313,  439 
Schurz,  statue  of,  193 
Schwab,  Gustav  H.,  173,  219,  359, 

391 

Scott,  Dred,  72 

Scott,  Francis  M.,  337 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  2,  17,  21 

Scudder,  Henry  J.,  116 

Secession,  effect  of,  party  divisions 
on  this  subject,  67;  effect  of,  on 
government  business,  14;  on 
commercial  business,  14,  15; 
illegality  of,  15;  ordinances,  Vir 
ginia  and  North  Carolina,  21 

Sedgwick,  General  John,  247 

Senatorial,  control  of  patronage, 
122;  campaign  in  New  York,  124; 
election,  New  York,  1894,  254; 
vote,  effect  of,  upon  passage  of 
laws,  144 

Sentiment  in  North  during  the 
war,  29,  40,  44,  58 

Settlement,  East  Side  House,  471; 
Stanton  Street,  374;  Toynbee 
Hall,  470 

Seven  Days'  battle,  28 

Seventh  of  March  speech,  Webster, 

3,  4 
Seventy,  Committee  of,  formation, 

341,    342;    performing   platform 

promises,  343,  348,  355 
Seward,  William  H.,  Secretary  of 

State,  n,  67,  68,  98,  167,  215 
Seymour,    Governor    Horatio,    36, 

79,  330 

Shattuck,  Cormna,  426 
Shaw,  Albert,  190 
Shearman,   Thomas  G.,    143,    154, 

165,  170,  174,  198 
Shelton,  Thomas  W.,  410 
Shepard,    Edward    M.,    179,    204, 

281,  284,  285,  354,  355,  381,  382, 

386-390,  392-394,  396,  398,  437 
Shendan,  General  Philip  H.,  47,  52 
Sherman,  John,  116,  229,  230,  234, 

236,  239,  245,  248,  295 
Sherman,  Gen.  Wm.  T.,  17,  39,  42, 

47,  50,  51,  55,  56,  65,  84,  85 


INDEX 


487 


Sherman  Silver  Purchase  Act,  229; 
repeal  proposed,  233  > 

Silver  bullion,  change  in  value  of, 
224,  227;  demonetization  of,  227; 
purchase  of,  by  the  government, 
228 

Silver  coin  current  in  the  U.  S., 
42,  224 

Silver  dollar,  coinage  of,  repealed, 
226 

Silver,  free  coinage  of,  217,  230; 
Cooper  Union  meeting  opposed 
to,  230;  South  Carolina  sentiment 
respecting,  232;  cooperation  of 
Harter,  232;  debate  on  repeal 
of  Sherman  Act,  235,  236 

Sleeping  cars,  454 

Slocum,  General,  85-87 

Smith,  Charles  Stewart,  377 

Smith,  E.  Delafield,  24 

Smith,  Edwin  B.,  268 

Smith,  Hoke,  253 

Smith,  Senator,  from  New  Jersey, 
213-215 

Social  settlements,  development  of, 
374,  470 

Soldiers  of  the  Civil  War,  exemp 
tion  of,  439 

Sonnet  on  "Three  Friends,"  313 

South  Carolina,  canvassing  vote 
of,  in;  position  in  the  Union, 
180 

Southern  Claims  Commission,  83 

Southern  losses,  reparation  for,  62, 

83 
Southern    States    after    the    war, 

poverty  of,  65;  measures  taken 

to  repair  their  losses,  66 
Southerners  appointed  to  office,  131 
Southmayd,  Charles  P.,  325 
Spalding,  J.  J.,  62 
Spanish  administration,  corruption 

of,  433 

Spanish  War,  432 
Specie  payments,  suspension  of,  in 

1861,  225 
Speckled  axe,  37 1 
Speculation  in  currency,  89 
Speyer,  James,  251 
Spoils  system,  corruption  incidental 

to,  262,  265,  310 
Springer,  William  M.,  198 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,   Secretary  of 

War,  46,  55,  56,  49,  67,  70,  71 
State  Department,  practice  in  ar 
bitrations,  417 


Steamship  navigation,  develop 
ment  of,  455 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  13 

Stetson,  Francis  Lynde,  143,  204, 
239,  244-248,  332,  412 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  67,  71,  83,  246 

Stevenson,  Vice-President  Adlai, 
214 

Stewart,  John  A.,  240,  241 

Stewart,  Rev.  J.  K.,  49 

Stickney,  Albert,  394 

Stokes,  Anson  Phelps,  150,  173,  184 

Storey,  Moorfield,  161 

Stoughton,  E.  W.,  325 

Straus,  Isidor,  173 

Straus,  Oscar  S.,  434 

Street  cleaning,  New  York  City, 
348 

Strikes,  method  of  dealing  with, 
Cleveland's,  420;  Roosevelt's,  441 

Strong,  Charles  H.,  359 

Strong,  Mayor  William  L.,  301- 
303,  341-345,  347,  348,  350,  353, 
357,  358,  362,  370,  373,  386,  391, 
395,  397 

Strong  administration,  appoint 
ments  by,  397 

Sturgis,  Russell,  184,  284,  356 

Sub-treasury  system,  181 

Subway,  New  York  City,  354,  394 

Sugar  duty,  431,  432 

Sullivan,  Senator  Timothy  D.,  378 

Sumner,  Senator  Charles,  67,  98 

Sumner,  Prof.  W.  G.,  151,  158 

Supervisors,  New  York  County,  317 

Surplus  in  Treasury  as  affected  by 
the  tariff,  181 

Surrender  of  Lee,  53;  of  Johnston, 

55 

Swayne,  Wager,  359,  370 
Sweeney,  Peter  B.,  318,  320,  330 

Taft,  William  Howard,  188,  220, 
221,  309,  406 

Tammany  Hall  and  the  tariff,  159; 
foundation  of,  314;  membership 
of,  382;  relation  of  the  chief, 
382;  policy  in  nominations  of, 
1901,  392,  394;  nominations  by, 
1903-1909,  398;  reform  of,  330 

Tariff,  effect  upon  wages,  132;  revi 
sion  of,  in  1889,  142;  equalizing 
difference  in  wages,  142;  effect 
on  prices,  143;  message  of  Cleve 
land,  1887,  132,  147;  for  revenue, 
152;  hearings  of  witnesses  who 


488 


INDEX 


Tariff— Continued 

never  appear,  158;  in  Presidential 

politics,   122;   relation  of  parties 

to,  after  the  war,  101 
Tariff  Reform,   publication  of,  the 

Reform  Club,   196;  school,   197; 

effect  on  social  conditions,  222 
Tariff  Reform  League,  Connecticut, 

165;  convention  at  Chicago,  165; 

National,  165;  conference  in  New 

York,  169;  second  conference  in 

New  York,  173 
Tariff  taxes,  increase  of,  192;  effect 

of,  in  a  New  York  town,  193 
Tax  levy,  New  York  County,  318 
Telegraph,  invention  by  Morse,  462 
Telephone,  463 
Tenderloin  District,  conditions  in, 

380 
Tenement  houses,  New  York  City, 

322;  violations  of  the  law,  385 
Tennessee,  protest  of,  16 
Tenure  of  Office  Act,  70,  72 
Thiers,  President,  118 
"Thomas,  it  is  religion,"  274 
Thomas,  Lorenzo,  71 
Thompson,  Hubert  O.,  414 
Thomson,  Dr.  William  H.,  278 
Thurman,  Allan,  295 
Tilden,    Samuel   J.,   99,    100,    103, 

104,  107,  108,  110-114,  116-118, 

121,  136,  263,  324,  328-331,  362, 

.363 
Times,    New    York,    exposure    of 

Tweed  frauds,  326 
Titus,  Brigadier-General,  44 
Tomkins,  Calvin,  251 
Tourgee,  Judge,  82 
Toynbee,  Arnold,  470 
Tracy,  Benjamin  P.,  368-370 
Trenholm,  William  L.,  131,  251,  252 
Trucks  in  streets  at  night,  350 
Trumbull,  Senator,  75,  98,  215 
Trusts,  the  result  of  protection,  190 
Tucker,  J.  Randolph,  151 
Turbine  engines  on  ocean  steamers, 

459 

Turkey,  American  citizens  in,  425; 
presentation  of  claims  for  in 
juries  to  Cleveland,  427;  presenta 
tion  of  claims  to  McKinley,  434; 
land  system  of,  444 

Tweed,  William  M.,  97,  317,  319- 
321,  323,  324,  326,  328,  329,  331, 
339,  37i,  382 

Tweed  Charter  of  1870,  317 


Tweed  Ring,  suits  against,  328 
Tyler,  President,  13 

Underwood  tariff  bill,  221 

Union  meeting,  1861,  20 

United  States,  condition  of,  after 
the  war,  59;  prosperity  of,  be 
tween  1850  and  1860,  186;  popu 
lation,  449;  territory,  449; 
national  banking  system,  449 

United  States  Civil  Service  Com 
mission,  281 

University  system  in  the  United 
States,  development  of,  464 

Unprotected  citizens,  158 

Urchittel,  Mrs.,  case  of,  341 

Van  Ingen,  E.  H.,  156,  173 

Van  Wyck,   Robert  A.,  306,  347, 

370,  373,  375,  384,  394,  395 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  472 

Vanderpool,  A.  J.,  325 

Vaux,  Calvert,  452 

Vest,  Senator,  245-347 

Vicksburg,  siege  and  surrender,  39 

Viele,  General,  168,  175 

Vilas,  Senator  W.  F.,  147,  207,  236, 
238;  letter  from,  236 

Vocational  training,  464 

Volunteers,  at  beginning  of  Civil 
War,  20;  movement  to  Washing 
ton,  2 1 ;  second  call  for,  23 ; 
movements  during  the  war,  41; 
retirement  to  private  life,  56 

Wade,  Benjamin  F.,  67,  72 

Wages,  effect  of  tariff  upon,  185; 
in  England  as  compared  with 
America,  177;  under  the  Dingley 
tariff,  219 

Waite,  Chief  Justice,  269 

Walcott,  Roger,  278 

Walker,  Francis  A.,  151 

Walker,  Robert  J.,  9 

Walker  revenue  tariff,  186 

Wallace,  Senator,  106 

Wallace,  Judge  William  J.,  268 

Wallis,  Teackle,  21 

War  tariff  taxes,  178 

Waring,   Colonel  George  E.,  348- 

351,  353 
Warner,   John   DeWitt,    198,   201, 

210,  233,  234,  251,  252,  389 
Washburn,  Israel,  15 
Washburn,  William  A.,  476 
Washington,  Booker  T.,  62,  89 


INDEX 


489 


Washington,  George,  9,   183,   196, 

202,  305,  306,  390 
Washington,  in  1861,  14;  traditions 

of,  parties  in,  131 
Watterson,  Henry,  151,  152 
Webster,  Daniel,  3-7,  15,  16,  126, 

154,  166,  185,  261,  262,  430 
Weed,  Thurlow,  293 
Welles,  Gideon,  25,  68 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  247 
Wells,  David  A.,  151,  152,  162,  163, 

165,  166,  170,  215 
Weyler,  General,  433 
Wheeler,  Benjamin  Ide,  204,  205 


Wheeler,  John,  3 

Wheeler,  General  Joseph,  176,  177 

Wheeler,     Vice-President    William 

A.,  in,  113,  114,  117 
White,  Andrew  D.,  283 
White,  Henry,  359 
White,  Horace,  145,  251,  252,  256 
White  slave  trade,  New  York,  374, 

376 
White  Star  Line,  improvements  in, 

456,  461;  pier  extension,  383 
Whitney,  David  R.,  224 
Whitney,  Edward  B.,  204 
Whitney,  Mrs.  M.  S.,  84-87 
Whitney,  William  C.,  203,  207,  211, 

212,  233,  332 
Whitridge,  Frederick  W.,  269,  272, 

274 


Whittier,  John  G.,  3 

Wickham,  William  H.,  330,  331 

Wilderness,  battle  of  the,  52;  cam 
paign,  43 

Williams,  Captain  Alexander  S.,  303 

Williams,  Talcott,  278 

Willis,  Congressman,  from  Ken 
tucky,  277 

Wilson,  Color-bearer,  53 

Wilson,  General,  44,  46,  51,  87,  88 

Wilson,  William  L.,  145,  198,  207, 
212-216,  218,  219,  235 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  190,  221,  312 

Wilson  tariff  bill,  213,  217;  position 
in  Senate,  214 

Wilson-Underwood  bill,  221 

Windmuller,  Louis,  251 

Wireless  telegraphy,  463 

Wise,  Henry  A.,  9 

Wood,  Fernando,  315-317 

Woodford,  General  Stewart  L., 
268,  433 

Wool,  duty  on,  165,  215,  432 

Woolsey,  Theodore  S.,  151 

Worden,  Lieutenant  John  L.,  26  „ 

Workmen's  Compensation  Act,  407 

Wright,  Carroll  D.,  442 

York,  President,  376 
Young    Men's    Christian    Associa 
tion,  474 
Young  Scratchers,  128 


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